TRC: The Next Generation
by Hopeakaarme
Summary: Kurogane makes a discovery about Fay. Babies are expected, Yuuko gets involved, Clow has no more king, and lots of little Mokonas bouncing around. Sequel to Extending the Family. Shounen ai KuroganeFay, TouyaYukito, and DoumekiWatanuki. Mpreg. Crack story
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** CLAMP owns them.

**A/N:** This story starts right where _Extending the Family_ ended. Be warned for male pregnancy, male/male pairings -- several ones -- and lots of crack. This story is NOT meant to be taken seriously, so no flames, please.

**Warnings:** Crack, crack, and a bit more crack. Oh, and mpreg. You have been warned.

* * *

TRC: Next Generation

Chapter 1

* * *

A rather lengthy silence was broken as Kurogane said, "So, let me get this straight. In your world, men carry babies, instead of women." 

"It's not quite that simple," Fay replied. "Even in Celes, women usually carry the babies. However, unlike all the other worlds we have visited, there are also some men capable of getting pregnant, too."

Most people would have been satisfied (and, quite possibly, relieved) at this point. Kurogane, however, was not most people. "And those males are?"

"The ones with most magical power, of course." Even in the darkness Kurogane knew the mage was smirking.

"And your magic..."

"Was the strongest in the whole country."

For a long while, Kurogane was absolutely silent. Finally, he asked, "And when exactly were you planning to tell me?"

"I thought Kuro-in already knew," Fay replied with an innocent voice. "How could I have known it doesn't work like that in your world? I just thought you didn't want any more children, that's all."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Simple, Kuro-pon. Men can't have children by accident even in Celes. Both parents have to consciously wish for a child or the conception won't happen. So, when I didn't get pregnant, I just assumed you didn't want a child."

"...Does that mean that you do want a child?" Sometimes Kurogane wished he hadn't been so good at reading the indirect messages the mage sprinkled here and there. This was definitely one of those times.

"Why not? Children are cute, and with the kids being all adults now, we could very well have one of our very own. But if Kuro-ru doesn't want one, I guess it can't be helped, ne?"

Kurogane didn't answer. His mind was busy processing the new information.

Fay could get pregnant. He hadn't got pregnant because Kurogane hadn't wished for it. Fay wanted a child.

Kurogane had no idea what he wanted.

Sleep did not come easily to him.

* * *

"It's kind of quiet without Mokona here." 

"Don't worry. I'm sure there will be more than enough noise when there are two Mokonas," Doumeki said calmly.

"Oh, it was so cute!" chirped Watanuki. "I hope it won't grow up to be as bad a drunk as its father, though," he added then.

"We'll just have to teach it differently." Doumeki sat down next to Watanuki, a tea cup in his hands, another on the table in front of Watanuki. "Hopefully Kurogane-san can overcome all the bad influence."

"Yeah. Fay-san drinks quite a lot, doesn't he?" Watanuki chuckled, thinking of the party. Then, he yawned, leaning his head against Doumeki's shoulder. In the last few years the other boy had grown passed him – not much, but enough to make a difference.

"If you are so tired, Kimihiro, perhaps you'd better just go to sleep," Doumeki suggested. "It's getting pretty late, anyway."

Watanuki smiled sleeping. Aside from Kohane-chan, Doumeki was the only person who addressed him by his given name. The other's attitude still made him mad at times – his temper definitely hadn't disappeared anywhere – but all in all, he was happy to be together with Doumeki. Which had been the case for a few years already.

Who would have guessed his "fated" hatred for the other boy had been simply his denial for their true destined feelings? Not Watanuki himself, that was for sure.

"Maybe you're right," he replied, yawning again. "I promised Yuuko-san to help at the shop tomorrow, anyway." Ah, yes, Yuuko. As far as he knew, whatever purpose the shop had been created for had already been fulfilled, but she wasn't about to retire, it seemed. And, truth be told, if there hadn't been her shop anymore he would have missed it.

"To the bed with you, then." Doumeki's hand was warm on his arm.

Another yawn hid Watanuki's smile.

* * *

Baby Mokonas, Fay had discovered, were even more cuddly and adorable than the grown ones. And they used it shamelessly on their advantage. 

There were days he couldn't go anywhere without at least one fluffy bundle clinging to him. Sometimes walking through a doorway burdened him with seven little creatures. It was quite a lovely burden, though, one he was glad to carry. Especially when all the little bundles were snuggling and chirping about "Fay-grandma" with their tiny voices.

Along with names, the little Mokonas were starting to have different personalities as well. Tomoyo's favourite, the silvery Luna, was quite a lady, while the dark grey Shadow that had developed a fondness for Doumeki was quiet and thoughtful. Starlight – black with tiny white spots – was noisy and cheerful, and Jade – almost snow-white – liked playing tricks. Tiger-striped Hanshin pretended to be a tough guy but loved pretty things, smudgy grey Tokyo was the most snuggly of them all, and the checkers-patterned Infinity was a wild little tomboy.

(Kurogane had protested at naming the little things after the worlds they had visited, at which he had been asked for better suggestions. Frost, Stripey, Smudge and Checkers had been unanimously ruled out by the oh-so-impartial judges – Tomoyo, Souma, Fay, and all nine Mokonas. Fay was secretly glad, though, that nobody had suggested Celes as a name for any of the babies.)

At the moment he was again baby-sitting the little things. As it was getting pretty late, they were all asleep. Hyperactive fluffy things or not, all babies had to sleep at some point. And, thankfully, these ones seemed to get their sleep in night time.

"Thank you so much for looking after them, Fay-mommy!" Mokona said happily as it bounced to check on its children. "Were they very much trouble?"

"Oh, not at all!" Fay said happily, looking at the little things all snuggling up to him. "They were just nice and cuddly as always. It's a pleasure taking care of them!"

"They are good kids!" Mokona said cheerfully. "When Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy get kids, Mokona will baby-sit them, too!"

Fay glanced to the ceiling. "...I'm afraid that's not about to happen," he said quietly.

"Whaaat?" Mokona looked confused. "But Fay-mommy can have babies, right?"

"Yes, but only if both parents want it. And it seems that, unfortunately, Kuro-in doesn't want a baby." Fay petted the white thing's head, setting a smile on his face as it had fled momentarily. "But it's okay! Fay-mommy has all his children and grandchildren already so he's quite happy!"

Mokona smiled a bit. "Yes. And Fay-mommy has Kuro-daddy, too, right? That's the most important thing!"

"Right." Now, Fay's smile was genuine. "Having Kuro-daddy with me is indeed more important than anything."

* * *

For some reason, there seemed to be children everywhere these days. Where had they all spawned from? Or had they always been there and he just hadn't noticed? 

Nevertheless, they were everywhere. Running down the corridors of the palace, watching the guards' training, playing on the village's streets. Wherever he glanced there were children laughing and playing.

Once, he caught a glimpse of a blue-eyed child, and for a moment, he couldn't think of anything else. Somehow the village child melted away and was replaced by another child of the same colouring but completely different features. A pale, thin little girl, with black spiky hair and sharp blue eyes that never let a single detail escape her notice, carrying a book... Afterwards he realized he had stood in the middle of the street for several minutes watching the inexistent child.

They were invading his dreams, too, showing up where formerly had been dreamless sleep, inconsistent little figures varying from an aggressive blonde teenager to a dark-haired little girl with huge crimson eyes and an absent smile. The situations he saw them in varied also, but one thing was clear in each and every dream: Whoever the children were, he was the father.

He didn't tell anybody about his dreams, not wanting to let anybody else analyze the messages of his sub-consciousness when he couldn't make any sense of them himself. It was clear they were somehow connected to Fay's 'little' revelation – he wasn't quite that thick, after all – but he couldn't quite tell which side he was being coaxed towards. The dreams proved he was thinking of children, but did his mind want to tempt him with images of possible offspring, or prove that he didn't need them to be happy?

It might have been just his imagination, but it seemed like Fay was around kids more often than usually, too. And in such situations, Kurogane couldn't help but pay especially close attention to the mage. He was smiling as usually, but what was that look in his eyes just now? It wasn't really happiness, was it? Was he sad or was Kurogane just imagining it?

That thought bothered Kurogane more than anything. After everything they had lived through – and everything he knew about the mage's past – the last thing he wanted was Fay experiencing any more pain because of him. But that wasn't enough of a reason to have a child, was it? They'd be responsible for it for ages!

Then again... would a child really be that much of a hardship? A few years and it could mostly look after itself. Having an heir wasn't too bad of an idea, either. Judging by his experiences in training Syaoran, he would probably enjoy teaching the child to fight properly...

And, much though he hated to admit it – because it was too sappy to be proper for a ninja – he kind of liked the thought of having a child with Fay. Preferably one with the mage's looks and his honesty, though – he couldn't survive with two liars in the house.

Then again, if it happened to be a girl and have Fay's looks, he'd be fighting off suitors forever. Like he'd let some lowlife date his daughter. Ha.

The next time he had a particularly vivid dream – the child had been blonde, with red eyes, and she had begged him to pick her up and carry her – he tried to remember exactly what he had felt in the dream. After realizing it had not been unpleasant – not unpleasant at all – he came to the conclusion that perhaps he wasn't being warned off after all.

A conscious wish, eh?

* * *

Fay lay partially on top of Kurogane, his head resting on the larger man's chest. An arm had been wrapped protectively around him, holding him close to the ninja. Quite happy with the current state of things, he snuggled closer to his lover, relishing the warmth of Kurogane's touch. 

It took him a moment to realize that the warmth he was experiencing didn't come solely from Kurogane. There was a warm feeling within him, too, something like a soft tingling somewhere in his stomach area.

Fay's eyes widened as he realized the most probable reason for this. Then, however, he simply sighed happily, closing his eyes as he listened to Kurogane's soft breaths.

Soon enough they were both asleep.

* * *

"Oi, mage." As Fay looked at him, Kurogane continued, "Are you all right? You look awfully pale today." 

"Oh, it's nothing," Fay replied with a smile. "I was just feeling a bit sick this morning, that's all."

"Sick?" Frowning, Kurogane walked closer to the mage, looking at him carefully. "Are you ill or something?"

"No, I'm not." However faint it looked on his indeed pale face, the smile Fay gave to Kurogane was definitely genuine. "Rather to the opposite."

"What the Hell's that supposed to mean?" growled the ninja. "You're not making any sense. Are you too sick to think straight?"

"Nope." Fay stood on his tiptoe to press a tiny kiss on Kurogane's cheek. "It is merely customary to the human species to experience occasional nausea during pregnancy."

It took the news a few seconds to completely sink into Kurogane's mind. "...You're pregnant?" he finally asked, wanting to confirm what his mind was telling him.

"Yes, I am!" Fay hugged his dear ninja tightly. "We're going to be parents for real, Kuro-mu!"

For a moment Kurogane was silent. Then, however, he hugged the mage back. "You do know Tomoyo-hime's going to go crazy, right?" he asked. "You won't have a moment of peace once she finds out."

"Undoubtedly." Fay smiled. "But I'm more than happy to bear that to have a child with Kuro-pon!"

"I see you don't know Tomoyo-hime very well," Kurogane muttered under his breath. As Fay demanded him to repeat his words, he refused.

* * *

The beginning of the pregnancy went by easily enough. Well, aside from Kurogane being even more protective than usually – which was quite an achievement – it did. There weren't any complications or other unfortunate events, and the morning sickness wasn't quite bad enough to ruin Fay's days completely. 

Being protective, however, was not easy, as Kurogane was coming to notice. He had a rather vague idea as to what was good for the baby, but Fay seemed to have no idea at all. At times the blonde had him seriously contemplating tying the blonde down just to keep him from hurting himself and the baby.

Seriously. Normal, sane people would have never considered jumping down from the fifth story window just to reach the yard faster. Definitely not when they were pregnant. (Of course, Kurogane had done such things himself, but that didn't matter. This wasn't about him, it was about Fay. And their child.)

Fay, however, just wouldn't listen to common sense. He apparently paid no attention to the fact that he was carrying a child. In the end he was convinced by Tomoyo to let Kurogane do any heavy carrying (the ninja had been lectured by the princess for not doing that, not listening to his complaints that the idiot wouldn't let him), but didn't seem to understand the other man's concern about all his leaps and spins. Seriously. Of course, most of the time he didn't land badly, but some time he might, and then what would come of both him and the baby?

Overprotective, was what Fay called him. Reasonable, was what Kurogane called himself. Pointing out that he'd prefer their child to be born alive apparently did nothing in Kurogane's favour, so he had to simply keep an eye on the mage, nag all he could, and wait.

Let's see him doing somersaults when he was eight months along.

* * *

Somebody was shaking Yukito. Rather hard. Opening his eyes, confused as to why he was being woken in such a manner, he found himself looking right into the eyes of the King of Clow. 

"To-ya?" he asked sleepily. "What's the matter?"

"Get up and dressed," the king replied, straightening. "We're leaving."

"Huh?" Yukito blinked, sitting up on the bed. Now that he looked at Touya, he noticed the king was in full travel attire. "Why? Where?"

"To the country of that ninja and the mage Sakura seems so fond of." Touya tossed something on the bed. Yukito recognized it as his own travelling cloak. "To escape the fuss that is sure to start in the morning."

"Why? What fuss?" With a yawn, Yukito stood up, starting to dress himself. No matter how confusing the situation was, if Touya told him to get ready for travelling, get ready he would. "What's happened?"

There was a definitely evil edge in Touya's smirk. "I left a little letter in Sakura's room. Come morning she'll find herself the Queen of Clow."

Oh, yes. That definitely had Yukito wide awake. "Sakura-chan's a queen? You gave the throne to her? But how? Why?"

"Because now anybody can't stop me from doing so any more." Touya cackled. "I'm simply fed up with advisors and such telling me I should finally settle down and have myself an heir. As the king I'm expected to marry some idiotic woman with more looks than brain, and that's not about to happen. Let them have Sakura and her peasant prince consort."

"Why now of all times, though?" Yukito asked then. "Couldn't you have done it when she got married, for example? It'd have been a perfectly logical time for that."

"Nope. The advisors said she's still too young, and they wanted to ensure the continuation of the line." Touya smirked again. "Now, think about it. Why'd I want to do it right now? Anything interesting happened lately?"

Yukito thought about it. And, despite his still slightly sleepy mind, he remembered. "...Oh."

"Oh, indeed. Our dear princess is pregnant. If that's not enough of a proof the line is going to continue, then I don't know what is." Picking up the cloak, Touya quickly pulled it on Yukito, apparently not satisfied with his dressing speed. "I still don't like the brat, but right now he's doing me a favour."

"...Right." Fastening the cloak, Yukito glanced around one last time before looking at Touya. "Shall we go, then? It should be daytime in Nihon about now."

"Sure. I don't want to waste another minute here." With long, purposeful strides, Touya hurried away, Yukito right on his heels.

It didn't occur to Yukito until they had already reached the hidden portal to the other world that, technically, Touya's retirement from the throne didn't affect the High Priest's position in any way. He had nothing to flee from, if not from the general distress bound to fill the palace the next morning.

It still didn't occur to him to question the purpose of his going along, though.

* * *

When Fay had chosen the room with the mirror and portals as his place for reading – with Mokona's help, he was slowly getting used to kanji – he hadn't expected a surprise visit. Definitely not from the two most powerful men in the Country of Clow, whom he recognized from various visits. 

"Touya-san!" he exclaimed. "And Yukito-san! What brings you here?"

"Necessity," the king replied. "We're escaping from a rather severe case of chaos."

"Oh?" That immediately worried Fay. "Are Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun all right?"

"As far as I know, yes." Touya smirked. "Do not worry, the chaos is not of the kind that would harm either of the brats. Just kind of difficult to me."

"Why so?" Fay questioned. "And why would you leave your country without a ruler if it's truly a chaotic time?"

"Well... actually, his giving up his throne is the reason of that chaos," Yukito said. However, he didn't even get to finish as Touya wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close.

"Let's just say certain old idiots won't take well to finding out that I left the throne to my sister and eloped with the High Priest," the apparently-former king said easily. "And I thought that the easiest way to escape their notice would be to change countries." Yukito flushed a bit at the 'eloped' part but didn't even try to protest.

"What's it, mage?" he heard Kurogane's voice from outside the room. The ninja then stepped in and blinked at the sight of their guests. "...The Hell?" he blurted out. "Since when has public display of affection with members of the same sex been a part of the Clow Royal Code of Conduct?"

"It isn't," Touya replied. "Which is exactly why we are here and not in Clow."

Yukito opened his mouth to explain, but was silenced by a curt gesture from Kurogane. "Don't. I'll undoubtedly hear it enough times as it is. Come on now, I guess you'd like to see Tomoyo..." He muttered something like 'She's going to love this' under his breath.

Fay smiled happily. His Kuro-pon was always so considerate!

* * *

"I understand." Tomoyo smiled happily. "It is remarkable that you would give up your throne just for love, Touya-san." 

"Che. It's not for that," Touya replied, not looking at Tomoyo. "Just wanted to give those old idiots the shock of their life, that's all."

"Is that so?" Tomoyo didn't seem to believe him. "In any case, you are welcome to stay here for however long you wish. Of course, if you truly want to avoid being found, I would advise going to the dimension of Yuuko-san. Hiding should be much easier there."

"That's right!" Fay said. "Or if you'd like to, Tomoyo-hime or I could send you to another dimension altogether. Yukito-san should have enough power to get you back home later."

"Don't even think about it," Kurogane growled. "I'm not about to let you do such things. It's too strainful."

"But Kuro-pipi!" Fay protested. "It's not like I'm sick or anything!"

"No, you aren't. You're just pregnant, and that's more than enough of a reason for you to take it easy for a while!"

"...Pregnant?" echoed Yukito, sounding rather confused. Touya simply stared at them. "Do correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Fay-san male?"

"Yup!" Fay replied with a smile. "But in my home world, men with enough magical power can get pregnant, too!"

"I see," Yukito said, smiling as well. He apparently had no trouble accepting the explanation right away. He then glanced to his side, seeing the way Touya was looking at him. "No, To-ya, it doesn't work that way in Clow."

"Good. That had me scared for a moment." Touya grinned. "Though it might've been interesting to see certain people's reactions to such news in Clow..."

It was, they all decided, quite well deserved for Yukito to casually hit His Former Majesty not-so-gently.

"No, I think Yuuko-san's world would be the best," Tomoyo said with a small smile. "Though the language might prove a problem..."

"No it won't!" a cheerful voice announced. Looking to its direction, they saw several Mokonas peering through the doorway. The one who had spoken stood proudly in front of the others. "Mokona will come along! Mokona can translate!"

"That would be quite helpful," Yukito said with a smile. "However, I'm afraid it would be quite difficult to you. As far as I have understood, Yuuko-san's dimension in general is quite sceptical about magic, so you would have to pretend to be a toy or something most of the time."

"That's not true," said the grown white Mokona, hopping into sight. "Starlight is quite a special Mokona. It can be invisible!"

"Yup!" announced little Starlight, waving its arms enthusiastically. "Nobody will see Starlight but you! And Starlight can make it so that nobody but you can hear Starlight's voice, too!"

"Excellent." Yukito reached out a hand, smiling as the little Mokona bounced towards him, perching itself on the offered hand. "Would you be so kind as to accompany us, then?"

"Yes!" Starlight said enthusiastically. "Starlight wants to go with Yukito-mommy and Touya-daddy!"

"Ah, well!" Fay said with a broad smile. "It looks like you've already been adopted…"

Touya grumbled something inaudible. However, after one look at Yukito snuggling with the night sky patterned Mokona, he was quiet.

Both Fay and Tomoyo smiled in satisfaction.

* * *

** Next chapter: **Watanuki and Doumeki talk, Yuuko makes a deal, and Fay causes Kurogane some more worry. We may also get a glimpse of Clow. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** CLAMP owns them.

* * *

TRC: Next Generation

Chapter 2

* * *

"…Well, that was interesting," Doumeki commented dryly.

Watanuki nodded. "Yes. It's not every day you meet a king, after all."

"Especially a king who has just eloped with the High Priest of his country." Doumeki was still looking at the slowly disappearing backs. "I wish them luck, though."

"Yeah." Watanuki turned away form the window, dropping himself onto a couch. "What's it Yukito-san told you with such great secrecy, anyway?"

"Oh, nothing important." Doumeki's voice was as dismissive as ever. "Just that Kurogane-san and Fay-san are apparently going to have a child."

"Ah." Watanuki was quiet for a moment. Then, just as expected, followed the freak-out. "Wait a minute. WHAT did you just say? A child? They're both men! Or are they? What's going on? Why wasn't I told? AAAAAGGH!"

"I think you weren't told exactly for this reason," Doumeki replied dryly, hitting him over the head with a pillow. "Everybody knows that you'll freak out at the slightest reason."

"But – but HOW?" Watanuki spluttered. "It's simply not possible! Is one of them a woman and I didn't know? Or has the world gone all crazy on me?"

"Apparently, there was some magic involved. Celesian wizards apparently do not have exactly the same anatomy as we do." Doumeki shrugged. "Look, Kimihiro, you have no trouble accepting the fact that they are living in another dimension, where magic is abundant. Why is it so difficult for you to accept their lives might not work out in the same way as ours?"

"But – but –" It took Watanuki quite some time and a few calming breaths to calm down. Finally, he sighed, then smiled a bit. "I wonder whether they'll let me baby sit sometimes."

Doumeki looked at him. "You like children, don't you?" he asked.

Watanuki smiled. "Yup! I always wished I'd have some of my own. But I guess it just didn't work out that way, did it?" He added, with an only slightly nervous laugh, "We're neither of us Celesian wizards, after all…"

Doumeki made a non-committal noise. It looked like he was thinking about something , staying silent for quite a while. Finally, Watanuki asked just what was occupying his mind.

"I was just thinking," Doumeki said. "You'd like a child, eh?"

"…Yeah," sighed Watanuki after a momentary silence. "Sorry," he added then.

"Nothing to be sorry for." Doumeki gave him a calm gaze. "Say… It has been a while since we last visited Yuuko-san, hasn't it?"

* * *

"Are you feeling all right, Sakura?" Syaoran asked worriedly.

"Oh, I'm just fine!" Sakura replied with a small smile. "But it's sweet of you to worry!"

"There's been so much stress on you lately," Syaoran sighed. "With your brother running away and dropping the country on your shoulders right after we found out about the baby… It can't be good! Couldn't he have at least picked some other time to leave the whole country in a state of barely controlled chaos?"

"It's okay." Sakura smiled gently. "And besides, I think it might be for the better that nii-sama and Yukito-san left now. They've had to wait for so long, I guess they wanted to take the first available opportunity."

"What do you mean?" asked Syaoran, slightly confused. "What have they waited for?"

"Why, for a chance to be together, of course." Sakura smiled, lying down on the enormous bed, closing her eyes as she stretched a bit. "They couldn't leave, before, because they couldn't abandon their duties. Now, however, I have returned, and they could be sure the line is going to continue, so the advisors can't continue their attempts to force Touya-nii-sama to marry somebody just to have an heir. I also heard there's a fine young priest who might be suitable for the position of the High Priest."

"To be together?" Syaoran's eyes widened. "Do you mean…"

"Yes." Sakura smiled. "Touya-nii-sama and Yukito-san are in love." She rolled around to lie on her back. "I've known for several years, now. I once happened to go looking for them when they thought nobody was around. They were sitting in Touya's room together, Yukito-san studying as always." The smile broadened as Sakura thought back to the old memories. "I was about to run in when I realized they were holding hands. So, I just watched silently from my hiding place. After a moment they kissed, too. Ever since I've known what has been going on."

"…Oh." Syaoran was quiet for a moment. Then, sitting down next to Sakura, he settled a hand over Sakura's stomach. "A good thing we are taking care of the need for an heir for the throne, then, right?"

Sakura smiled, entwining her fingers with Syaoran's. "Right."

* * *

Watanuki might have been more surprised at the realization that he had never seen this room before. After all, he was the one responsible for keeping the shop clean, even after all these years. However, he knew better. This was, after all, Yuuko-san's shop. However well he had come to know it in his years of working there, he was afraid there was still more to it than he could even imagine. And with his past, he had come to be able to imagine quite a few things most people would have never even dreamed of.

As it was, he simply looked around in the room, several times as large as the shop itself appeared to be on the outside – well, not exactly, but certainly the size of several ordinary rooms put together. Branches stuck out of the walls, apparently alive, and there was a pond in one corner, the grass covered with something that may very well have been genuine grass. The ceiling was so far above and the room so well lighted he might have actually believed they were under open sky.

"So… That is the thing?" asked Doumeki, pointing at something Watanuki hadn't apparently spotted yet. Following the direction of the other's gaze, he saw it, and gasped. It was… unusual.

A bird, its feathers shining like the purest gold, was sitting on the ground in the opposite end of the room, its head tucked under its wing. As though startled awake by Doumeki's comment, however, it suddenly raised its head, giving them a serious gaze.

"That is it," Yuuko confirmed, reaching out a hand towards the bird. Spreading its wings, it took to the air, approaching them. It wasn't until it had gotten nearer that Watanuki realized just how enormous it was. He was quite sure no scientist knew of a bird as huge as this one.

Still, despite its enormity, the bird – its head at the same level with his – looked incredibly graceful and elegant. As it landed close to them, bowing and raising its head in something that was apparently a greeting ceremony of its species, Watanuki realized its head rose higher than his own. And the bird's neck was not very long.

"…That's one fairly large bird," Doumeki said calmly as ever. "It looks like it could eat us whole."

"Well, perhaps not," Yuuko chuckled. "It is, however, the solution to your problem." She stepped forward, petting the bird's feathers. "If strands of hair from two people are tied together and fed to it, it will lay an egg. From that egg will hatch a baby that is made up of the genetic material of those two people, regardless of the gender."

"How long will that take?" Watanuki asked. "Nine months?"

"Oh, no!" Yuuko replied cheerfully. "Two days to lay the egg, up to a week for it to hatch. This is, after all, magic."

"What about the legal matters?" Doumeki asked. Of course he would be the one to think of the practical side. "It hardly will do any good for us to have a magical child if nobody believes it is ours."

"I have some friends," the witch replied mysteriously. "All required documents are included in the price!"

"And the price is?" Watanuki asked suspiciously. He did want a child, but he didn't want to owe Yuuko for the rest of his life.

"Oh, not much." Her smirk told otherwise. "Just five bottles of sake and full grandmothering rights."

"And what would those rights entail?" Watanuki tried very hard to banish a mental image of a white-haired Yuuko baking cookies.

"Why, the right to have the child over every now and then," came the cheerful explanation. "To spoil their appetite with sweets and cookies, let them stay awake well past their bedtime, and generally spoil them rotten. And, of course, tell them stories and teach them all about the old traditions." There was definitely something evil in her smirk as she added, "Like why you should not clip your nails at night."

Doumeki gave Watanuki a questioning gaze, apparently guessing there was something more to this. Watanuki just shook his head, mouthing, 'Later.' At Yuuko, he said, "We accept… I guess." He glanced at Doumeki, who simply nodded solemnly. Damn guy couldn't even say anything. Irritating, irritating, irritating!

"I knew you would." Yuuko gave them her best self-satisfied smirk. Then, as though to keep them from protesting, she walked to their side, having drawn a pair of scissors from somewhere. Cutting a lock of hair from each head, she then tied them together and went back to the bird. "Here, look, it's a rare treat. So much power. You must be glad to help them out, right?"

The bird made a sound that looked like an agreement in response. Taking the hair into its beak, it then threw its head back, swallowing the hairs. No matter how closely Watanuki looked at it, however, nothing seemed to truly happen.

If it turned out that Yuuko had lied to them, he would kill her. He really, really would kill her.

* * *

"You're no fun, Kuro-pipi!"

"This is not about being fun. This is about being sensible. I won't allow you to go monster-hunting, not when you are pregnant."

"I'm not made of glass!" Fay protested. "You never had any problem with me going hunting before!"

"Because before you were never carrying a child!" the ninja shot back. "Before, if you injured, you wer ethe only one who had to suffer -- and me, having to listen to your whining. But if you get hurt now, it might very well kill the baby!"

Fay didn't say anything, now. Instead, he just watched the other man.

"...And don't give me those puppy eyes. When I say no I mean no."

"Kuro-rin is so cruel! He wants to lock me up and deprive me of everything that is fun in the world! Apparently he thinks I'm just a kid to be looked after --"

"No, you aren't. You are just carrying one. And as you're clearly not capable of looking after it by yourself, I have to do that." At another attack of the puppy eyes, Kurogane just frowned. "Give up already. You always think I'm so damn sweet for being protective, now let me be that without protesting all the time!"

"...Aww, Kuro-pon's so sweet." Fay grinned a bit before starting to pout. "But still, abandoning me here all by my lonesome self just to go chasing some stupid monsters..."

Kurogane clenched his fists. Really, sometimes this was almost too much...

* * *

"Hey, To-ya! There's an ice cream shop there! Why don't we go and get some?"

"Because we just had some an hour ago?" Touya offered, but didn't protest. However old and responsible they supposedly were, Yukito still sometimes got that childish smile that was simply too cute to resist.

Thus, the former King of Clow allowed himself to be dragged by the hand, glaring at any passers-by who gave them strange glances. After so many years of caring for a country, they definitely deserved a break. It felt good, for once not having to worrry about anything or anybody but their own schedule for the day -- the schedule that nobody else had any say in. They could change their plans on a whim, do whatever struck their fancy -- and be together. Sure, there was still much wondering and disapproval, but it was nothing compared with the scandal it would have caused in Clow.

"Starlight wants ice cream, too!" a happy voice announced from his shoulder.

...Well, so they weren't exactly alone. However, Starlight was less inclined to teasing than its mother, and it actually had some sense as to when it was the best just to go away for a while and let them be. It wasn't too unbearable as company, especially considering the benefits its company gave them. Like being able to communicate with other people.

"I'll go get the ice creams," Yukito said cheerfully. "You two go wait for me there, okay?" He pointed at a park bench. "What will you have? Vanilla for Touya and strawberry for Starlight?"

"Right!" the little Mokona replied cheerfully, while Touya just nodded. It was just about the same for him, really. As long as it made Yukito smile.

Touya sat down on the bench, idly watching the people passing by and Starlight happily bouncing around, unseen by the others. Forgetting to be on guard he was slightly startled as a familiar form suddenly stopped in front of him.

"To-ya?" Yukito said. "Why are you spacing out like that?"

Touya blinked. Something wasn't right here. If Yukito wanted ice cream, he never returned without it. And besides...

"...You're not my Yukito," he said with convinction. Okay, so the clothes were almost the same -- he wondered exactly how that had been managed -- but the last time he had seen Yukito, mere minutes ago, the priest had been wearing two earrings. Also, something in his position... this just wasn't his Yukito.

"What do you mean?" asked the not-Yukito, sounding hurt. "Of course I am! Who else could I be?"

"To-ya?" asked a voice just then, exactly similar to that of the man in front of him. "Who is this?"

The not-Yukito turned around, looking right at the real Yukito, who had just appeared with three ice creams balanced in his hands. Both their eyes widened in shock. It looked almost comical, enough so that Touya might have actually laughed, had somebody just then not tapped him on the shoulder.

"May I ask just what you are doing with my boyfriend?" Touya heard his own voice asking.

"Oooh! Two Touya-daddies and two Yukito-mommies!" Starlight exclaimed. "Starlight is soooo confused!"

Now, the not-Yukito turned again, staring at Starlight. "...What exactly is that thing?" he asked, sounding confused.

Touya sighed. "Look, I think we'd perhaps better talk, preferably somewhere else..."

* * *

"I still think she must have cheated us somehow."

"Don't always be so suspicious, Kimihiro," Doumeki said reasonably. "Sure, she often neglects to tell things, but when has she outright lied?"

To this Watanuki couldn't really say anything. Instead, he just stared suspiciously at the enormous egg lying in the middle of soft pillows. This egg would, according to Yuuko, hatch within the next couple of days to reveal a child. Their child.

With this thought in mind, he glanced at Doumeki, who was currently peacefully reading as though there had been nothing to be anxious about. Watanuki silently wondered just what kind of a father Doumeki would be. A calm one, he suspected, one who would always have the answer for everything and take a sensible approach whatever the issue was. Somebody who would patch up a scraped knee and make no more fuss over it.

He didn't know what kind of a father he would be, himself, though. Sure, he could always speculate, but not truly know, not yet. Doumeki had said he would be a fussy father, but that was just teasing. So what if he had already woken up once with a nightmare about their future child getting sick? Didn't Doumeki care at all?

Apparently not, he concluded as Doumeki simply continued reading, not giving the egg a single glance. Well, he probably couldn't blame him. After all, Doumeki was doing this for him, for his childish wish. Watanuki had no doubt Doumeki would help him every moment of every day – just like he always did, until Watanuki got too annoyed and simply yelled, telling him to stop – but it would be for him, not for Doumeki himself. Or even the child.

For some reason, that thought made him incredibly unhappy.

Banishing such thoughts, Watanuki simply stared at the egg, waiting for something, anything to happen. If only the egg hatched, everything would be clearer. He just knew it.

* * *

"So you are a king in your dimension?" the other Touya asked for confirmation. "And he's the High Priest?"

Touya nodded. "That's right. My sister told they'd encountered us in a couple of other dimensions, too -- always together, though."

"Well, that's nice to hear!" the other Yukito said happily. "It's almost amusing just how much we resemble each other. Even our taste for clothes is the same!" He made a little gesture indicating their almost identical attire. "And you even have Sakura for a little sister, too!"

"Exactly. Currently happily married to that brat of hers and expecting their first child," Touya sighed. "Too bad for her it was the perfect opportunity for us to leave. Back in Clow not a week went by without at least one of the advisors reminding me that I'm supposed to carry on the line."

"Which you aren't about to do," concluded his counterpart.

"Of course not! Like I'd ever be with anybody but Yukito!" As though to demonstrate his point he drew his Yukito closer.

"To-ya?" the other Yukito said, eyeing his High Priest counterpart thoughtfully. "What do you think, should I have my ears pierced as well?"

"Hm... Might not be a bad idea," the other Touya replied, eyeing the Yukito of Clow. "What do you think? Should I become a king?"

"Seriously?" muttered Touya. "I'll trade."

"No you won't, To-ya," Yukito said calmly. "You love Clow and its people too much to. Yes, even those 'idiotic advisors' of yours. You claim to have given up the throne for Sakura-chan, but if there was a war, you'd be the first one to draw your sword."

"Well, if not me, then who?" Touya snapped. "Sakura? She's but a kid!"

"If your world goes by the same timeline as ours," the other Yukito pointed out, "which, according to what you have told, it does, she is around twenty years old now."

"And?" asked both Touyas in unison.

The Yukitos glanced at each other. Then, they both shook their heads, muttering something about stubborn idiots with sister complex.

* * *

"Shizuka! Shizuka, something's happening!"

"Hnn?" Damn the guy, not even a proper word of answer! How could he just sleep, anyway? Watanuki himself had been rolling around in his bed for a while already, knowing that something was wrong but not sure what.

Now, however, he was even more certain that something was up. And, this time, he actually knew what it was. Well, at least he had a very good idea.

He had heard something from the next room And the next room was where the egg was.

Not listening to his tirade – by now he was almost shouting – Doumeki sat up, blinking a bit. Then, still wordless, the other boy got up to his feet, starting to make his way to the other room.

By the time they reached the doorway, Watanuki was still complaining about Doumeki's never-ending lack of reactions. There, however, he fell silent, simply staring.

There were visible cracks on the egg.

"See, Shizuka?" Watanuki asked, excited. "It's hatching! The egg is hatching!"

"I can see that," came the dry response. However, Watanuki could tell Doumeki was just a bit more tense than usually. Not much, but a bit. And as this was Doumeki in question, that meant a lot.

Watanuki didn't even realize he had grasped on Doumeki's arm, excitedly staring at the egg as it slowly started to break, tiny pieces floating away as though they were mere feathers dancing in the air. And then, finally, the main part of the egg fell apart, revealing –

"A baby," Watanuki breathed, taking a hesitant step forward. "It really is a baby, Yuuko-san didn't cheat us after all…"

"Did you really expect her to?" asked Doumeki reasonably. Then, gently separating Watanuki's grip form his arm, he walked over to the egg and the child that had now been revealed from inside it. Slowly, he crouched down to pick up the baby. "It's a girl," he noted, still calm as ever.

"A girl," echoed Watanuki, walking closer. "Could we…" He bit his lip, not sure how to say it. At Doumeki's encouraging nod, he drew a deep breath and finished, "Could we name her Himawari?"

Something in Doumeki's gaze softened a bit. "…That sounds fine to me."

"Himawari," Watanuki said as though tasting the name in its new function. "Himawari," he repeated, coming to stand right next to his lover and their newborn – or newly hatched? – daughter. "You'll be our very own Himawari-chan, won't you? And maybe you will actually bring luck…"

Himawari-chan looked at him with her lovely baby blue eyes for a while. Then, however, she opened her rosy little mouth and started to wail.

"AAAAAH! What's wrong with her? Is she cold? Hungry? Quick, Shizuka, get her in a diaper and some clothes, you know where I put them after buying them, I'll go and get a bottle! We have to do something or she'll just cry and cry and never stop! Why are you still standing there? Get moving! Our child is unhappy!"

Doumeki watched Watanuki's panic for a moment. Then, with something resembling a smile, he said to little Himawari-chan, "And this panicky thing, my dear, is your Kimihiro-mummy."

"I'M NOT A WOMAN!" they heard Watanuki's yell from the kitchen. Himawari's mouth formed a little 'o' and she stopped wailing for a moment.

"He's not a woman," Doumeki agreed, "but he's still your mummy, because he's even more of a fuss than three ordinary mothers put together…"

"I HEARD THAT!" came another yell. This caused Himawari to start crying again.

Sighing, Doumeki carried the still bare baby on one arm, going on search for some baby clothes. Even as the little girl continued wailing, though, he gave her a tiny smile.

Oh, yes. He had a feeling he would like having an ally in the house.

* * *

"I'm still not sure whether this is a good idea."

"Well, neither am I," Yukito replied a little smile. "We'll never find out before we try, though, will we?"

They stood before the house Watanuki had given the directions to when they had first arrived to the world. Though they had no wish in particular – surely they had something, or the couldn't have seen the house, but they had not arrived for a wish – Yukito had suggested it might be polite to pay her a visit. And besides, wasn't Touya the tiniest bit curious?

Touya was, of course. Thus, they now stood there, side by side, before finally walking forward onto the shop's area.

They were greeted by two little girls, one with pink hair, one with light blue. "Welcome!" they chorused. "Watanuki is busy today, so Maru and Moro are working in his stead!"

The two men glanced at each other. They did have to wonder just what would keep Watanuki busy. From what little they knew of him, the shop was practically his only interest aside from Doumeki and his studies. Not that he would have ever admitted it.

"Yuuko-san!" the girls chorused as they had led the two men inside the house. "We have guests!" Then they dashed off as though to fetch the witch.

"Have you ever met her before?" Touya asked, looking at Yukito.

Yukito shook his head. "No, not even seen her. I have merely heard of him, as has anybody with any proper contact with the magical part of the world. It's impossible to deal with it for any amount of time and never hear a word of her."

"Probably so," Touya admitted. He then turned to look towards the doorway as he heard approaching footsteps. Truly enough, a moment later a woman came into sight, clad in a luxurious dress, an aura of mystery surrounding her.

Touya stood frozen, staring at the woman, his mouth hanging open. Yukito managed to retain enough of his dignity to keep his jaw closed, but he did stare, too.

"My, my, Tou-chan," the Witch of Dimensions said with a tone most resembling that of gentle teasing. "When exactly were you going to introduce your boyfriend to me?"

There was another moment of stunned silence. Then, Touya managed to speak. One word, but enough.

"...Mother?"

* * *

**Next chapter: **Touya is angry, Watanuki is fussy, Kurogane is protective and Fay is bored. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** CLAMP owns them.

* * *

TRC: Next Generation

Chapter 3  


* * *

"What the Hell are you doing here?" Touya half asked, half growled. "You were supposed to be dead years ago!"

"My. Is that any way to greet your mother after so many years? I am awfully disappointed in you, Touya. I thought I taught you better than that."

"Perhaps you did. However, things have been forgotten during your absence." Without even consciously realizing it Touya stepped half in front of Yukito as though to shield him. "Why, Mother?"

"Why what? Why I taught you better? Because I wished my son would behave himself when he grew up. My, what a disappointment you're turning out to be!"

"Blame yourself," her son spat. "Perhaps, if you had actually stuck around, I would have turned out better!"

"Calm down, To-ya," Yukito said, placing a calming hand on the other man's arm. "That isn't going to solve anything."

"Ah, yes, Yukito-kun," Yuuko said, smirking. "You always were such a calming presence in my dear son's life, weren't you? Even when you were just kids." Her smirk turned into a smile. "Thank you for taking such great care of him!"

"Don't go changing the subject!" Touya shouted. "Why did you leave? And why did you let us all believe you died?"

"I left because I was convinced you would be well cared for and because I had something else to attend to," came the calm response. "And I let you believe I died because I thought you'd prefer that to the knowledge that your mother had simply abandoned you and was staying away from you by choice."

"Well, then you shouldn't have left us at the first place!" Touya shouted. "Sakura doesn't even remember you!"

"All the better for her," Yuuko replied. "If she doesn't remember, she can't miss. Or mourn."

"Well, I could! And Father could! How could you do that to him? He was never the same after he lost you –"

"And how do you know he wasn't in on my plan?" the witch interrupted him calmly. "He was well aware of what I was going to do and fully approved. I'm not that much of a bitch as to abandon my husband without a word of warning, you know."

"Well, at least you could abandon your children without another thought!" came the furious response.

"Touya," the witch started, but the ex-king was not listening to him anymore. He had already turned around and was walking away.

Yukito hesitated for a moment, then turned around to follow his lover. Before leaving, however, he looked over his shoulder at the witch.

"I must apologize for Touya," he said. "However, I cannot entirely disagree with him. He does not take it easily when somebody purposefully hurts his feelings – or those of Sakura. His mother or not, you are currently one of his most hated people – and considering Touya's temperament, that's quite an achievement."

"I did not expect anything less." Yuuko simply inclined her head a bit, not saying anything else as the priest left as well.

* * *

The apartment the ex-king and his dear priest had acquired for their extended stay in the other dimension was mostly quiet by now. The door to Mokona's tiny room was a crack open. Touya stood on the other side of the doorway, listening.

"Starlight doesn't have to go to sleep yet!" protested a sleepy voice. "Starlight is a big Mokona! That's why –" A yawn interrupted the apparently not-so-big Mokona.

"Of course, Starlight-chan," Yukito said. Touya could easily hear the gentle smile in his voice. "But big Mokonas know how important it is to sleep. Now, do get some sleep so that you'll be up bright and early tomorrow for all the fun we'll have!"

"But –" Another yawn interrupted. Some more soothing words from Yukito were required, but a moment later, the fluffy little thing was fast asleep. Quietly, Touya pushed the door properly open, peeking inside.

A smile was indeed on Yukito's lips as he tucked the little Mokona in, making sure it was warm and comfortable. There was something in this scene that touched Touya in ways he wasn't sure he cared to analyze.

"You like that, don't you?" he asked quietly as the High Priest stepped out of the room. "Tucking the thing in, that is. And looking after it in general, too."

"Well, yes." Yukito smiled a bit. "It's such a cute little thing. Also, it's nice to look after something that is a bit less demanding than an entire country."

"Then it's a pity you're not from Celes," Touya commented, smirking, as they made their way into the living room. "If you were, we could get a brat of our own to look after!"

"If not for the fact that it's indeed biologically impossible," Yukito stated calmly, sitting down on a couch, "I would not be entirely averse to the idea. Especially as it might calm some of your advisors."

"They're not my advisors anymore," Touya countered. "They're Sakura's, and good riddance."

"Is that really the way a king ought to think?" Yukito raised an eyebrow. "Even one who has given up his throne. Really, To-ya. Perhaps my judgement of you has been grievously wrong?"

"Depends on your judgement." A hand on the priest's cheek, Touya turned his face in an angle allowing a kiss, then delivering the said kiss.

It seemed that Yukito was in no hurry to actually voice whatever his opinion of the ex-king was in favour of kissing him back.

* * *

"Kuro-pin, I'm bored."

"And? What am I supposed to do about that?"

"Stop being so overprotective?" Fay suggested. "You won't let me do anything at all!"

"I'm not overprotective," Kurogane replied calmly. "I'm just reasonable. You can't think only about yourself now, you idiotic mage. Whatever you do also affects the kid."

"But I'm boooo-red!" whined Fay. "You won't even let me do any magic, you big bully!"

"Not true!" the ninja shot back. "Just because I won't allow you to raise kekkais even the princess has trouble raising doesn't mean I'm bullying you."

"I just want to be useful!" the blonde protested. "And I haven't got to fight even a teeny tiny monster in months!"

"The last monster I didn't let you fight with was a snake the size of a horse, its specialty being biting its way through people's stomachs. Not exactly the safest of battles when you're pregnant."

"So it was better that you fought with it instead and got bitten?" huffed Fay.

"At least when I get bitten in the stomach, nobody dies."

This seemed to get at Fay for a moment as he quickly raised a hand onto his stomach, where by now was a clearly visible bulge. A second later, however, he was already whining. "I'm getting out of shape, Kuro-pon. And it's all because you won't let me do anything but walk!"

"That's because your centre of weight has shifted," came the instant reply. "Just last week you would have fallen down the stairs if I hadn't been there to catch you – and then, you were just walking. Like hell will I let you do jumps and spins and such. You'll just get the both of you killed!"

"Fine! Then I want to get out of here, at least," decided Fay. "I'm bored of being in this same old palace all the time!"

"Then where would you go?" Kurogane asked reasonably. This was a request he might even consider.

"To Yuuko-san's world," Fay replied. "I want to buy things for the baby! We should at least get bottles and such for it so that we can feed it when it's born!"

"Like Hell you will!" Kurogane huffed. "Even if the travel wasn't so exhausting, there's no way you can walk on the streets there! People will stare at you, with that stomach!"

"So they'll think I'm fat. So what?"

"No, they won't," Kurogane pointed out. "There's a certain difference between a fat stomach and a pregnant stomach, and it's quite clear yours is the latter. Add this to the fact you're clearly male, and you'd attract plenty of unwanted attention."

"So you're ashamed of me, eh?" Fay pouted. "Well, for your information, I didn't get my stomach like this all by myself! It's all your fault!"

"It's hardly all my fault," countered the ninja. "As far as I know, making a baby requires two people, even if one of them is a damn Celesian mage. So we're both equally to blame. And that doesn't change the fact I'm not going to let you become some public freak show."

"Fine. Then I'll go and talk to Tomoyo-hime. She at least lets me talk without worrying whether I still have enough oxygen to spare for the baby."

As Fay stormed out of the room, Kurogane huffed, rolling his eyes. "And don't even think about jumping down the stairway!" he called after the mage.

* * *

"I'm fed up with Kuro-rin," Fay sighed. "I know he means well, but over the time it's turned from cute to frustrating. He treats me like a glass figure!"

"Most men get like that when their lover is expecting," Tomoyo said calmly. "It only proves he cares about you and the baby. Try to bear it; you may even miss it later on!"

"Hardly," muttered Fay. "He won't even let me visit Yuuko-san's world to buy things for the baby! He says I'd look like a freak!"

"In that, he is unfortunately correct," Tomoyo replied. "A pregnant man would cause quite a commotion there, I'm afraid. But fear not!" she then said, seeing Fay's sad expression. "I have a solution!" With this, she went to rummage through a chest, only to soon draw out a piece of clothing. "I recently made this just for you," she said, smiling. "It should solve your problem!"

"But Tomoyo-hime," Fay pointed out, "that is obviously a woman's dress. And pregnant though I may be, I am not a woman."

"I know that!" Tomoyo replied cheerfully. "However, if you wear this, you will look like a woman. Then you can go into Yuuko-san's world without arousing suspicion!"

Fay's expression brightened. "And then Kuro-pii wouldn't have anything to complain about, right?" He grinned widely. "Thank you, Tomoyo-hime!"

"Any time." Tomoyo smiled happily. "I'm only too glad to hinder Kurogane's plans however I can! He's such a stubborn little boy at times, don't you agree?"

"Oh, yes." Fay smiled back. "He's my silly little puppy!"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Kurogane sighed. "Or, rather, I can't believe you are doing this!"

"What's wrong, Kuro-rin?" asked Fay with a brilliant smile. Wearing the dress made by Tomoyo-hime – with sufficient extra layers over the chest to hide his lack of breasts – and with his hair done by the same princess, he made a fairly convincing woman. "Surely I don't cause suspicion now?"

"No, you don't. You simply look like an idiot," Kurogane grumbled. "I used to think that preferring men meant I wouldn't have to walk around with a woman!"

"Awww, don't be silly, Kuro-pon." Fay smiled. "You know I'm only doing this for the baby! And that's good, isn't it? After all, you're always saying I should think more about the baby!"

"You should think more about the baby when thinking about it means not hanging outside fourth-story windows, not when it means dressing up as a woman," came the grumpy response.

"Aw, you're just grumpy as ever," Fay said cheerfully. "You are such a bad puppy, Kuro-rin!" He glanced around, and before Kurogane could snap anything in response, he was again talking. "Oh, look! Aren't those Touya-san and Yukito-san? Let's go greet them!"

Grateful for any distraction that took his attention away from the apparent femininity of his male companion, Kurogane was quite willingly steered to the side. There they did, indeed, meet the former King and High Priest of Clow.

"How's Sakura?" demanded Touya as the first thing after greetings and you-look-great type of comments about Fay's stomach. "You've talked with her, haven't you? Is she all right?"

"She's very much all right. However, she misses you both and wants you to take back the throne," Fay replied. "Syaoran-kun fears the stress of ruling the country might be bad to the baby."

"Oh?" Yukito seemed concerned. "Maybe we really should return, To-ya…"

"Queens have had kids before," Touya snorted, though he did appear uneasy. He was, as always, trying to hide his concern for his sister with apparent annoyance. "I'm not taking back the throne as long as those idiotic advisors claim that my duty as the king is to be unfaithful to my lover!"

"Then get a kid of your own," Kurogane suggested simply. At the glare he got from Touya, he snapped, "What? Those kids here did, Doumeki-kun and Watanuki-kun, that is. A lively little girl."

"Oh, you haven't seen Himawari-chan yet?" Fay exclaimed. "She's soooo cute! I hope my baby will be as adorable!"

"But… How's that possible?" Yukito asked, puzzled. "Neither of them can bear a child…"

"Apparently, the witch was involved," Kurogane replied. "She claims the kid is indeed biologically theirs, so you could get yourself a real heir if you wanted."

"I don't want to have anything to do with the witch", Touya grumbled. "She can go to Hell for all I care."

"To-ya!" Yukito snapped admonishingly. "That's hardly the proper way to talk of your mother no matter what she's done!"

"…Mother?" For once, Fay looked confused. So did, for that matter, Kurogane.

"Oh, yes." Yukito smiled a bit. "It seems the Witch of Dimensions is, in fact, the late queen of Clow… Well, it appears that she isn't dead like everybody assumed, and now Touya's quite disappointed to find out that she left him and Sakura-chan behind."

"Figures," Kurogane muttered. "There probably isn't a mess the Bitch of Dimensions hasn't stuck her nose into…"

* * *

Little Himawari-chan was, at the moment, quite happy. She was warm, fed, and dry, and she had currently three adults fussing over her.

There was Doumeki-daddy, of course – she would have recognized him anywhere. He was the one who looked after her most of the time, so she got upset when he wasn't near. Kimihiro-mummy was almost as good, but sometimes even he couldn't replace her daddy.

The third one was saying something now. She didn't understand the words, but it sounded nice so she smiled anyway.

"She's such a charmer already," Yuuko remarked, returning the baby's smile. "When she grows up you'll have to beat the boys away with a stick! Or girls, should she be so inclined, of course," she then added.

"WHAT?" Watanuki practically panicked immediately. "No! I'll never let anybody near my little girl! And besides, she's just a BABY!"

"She is a baby now," Doumeki commented reasonably. "In a few years, however, she'll be a young lady and very likely to date. And besides, just how do you plan to keep the boys away? By yelling at them?"

Yuuko chuckled. "I'm glad to see at least one of you is taking a mature approach at this," she said. "After all, if Watanuki-kun's yelling did discourage possible suitors, you hardly would be here today!"

"Exactly." Doumeki was calm as ever. "That's why I'll have my bow ready."

* * *

"Well, that was fun!" Fay grinned. "It's still nice to be back in my own clothes, though!"

"I should hope so," Kurogane grumbled. "Seeing you in a dress is damn disturbing!"

"Why so?" Fay pouted. "Doesn't Kuro-pon like seeing my legs? Are they that unattractive?"

"You know damn well that isn't it!" growled the ninja. "The fact that disturbs me is that you are male! Well, at least you're supposed to be that!"

"Do you doubt it?" Fay blinked in mock innocence. "You of all people should know very well that I'm a man! Should I give you some more proof?"

"…Please not right now." Kurogane sighed. "Why can't you ever be serious?"

"Why, I'm always very much serious." Fay smiled happily, then continued to sort through all the things he had purchased from the other world. He was wearing one of the shirts Tomoyo had designed specifically for him – spacey enough to allow for his already rather round stomach. To Kurogane's surprise, he had actually turned down some of the more feminine designs. Apparently the pregnancy had made him a bit more eager to make it clear that he was, in fact, a man.

"Sure you are." Kurogane did not look at the tiny baby things, not at all. The walls were certainly very interesting. And no, he did not just glance at those teeny tiny socks. They were just silly, after all; they'd surely be a pain to put on the baby's feet and besides they'd be too small in no time at all.

The wall ceased to be interesting – what it had been just a moment before, really, he had not looked at the stupid things! – when he heard Fay taking a sharp breath. "What is it?" he asked, immediately wary at the merest hint of any threat to his lover and their child.

"Oh, nothing." Fay smiled brilliantly. "The baby just kicked, that's all."

"Oh?" Now, Kurogane was definitely interested. Only because it was a kick, of course. It was never too early to consider the kid's future education, and a sword might not always be available…

"Yes." The smile was even brighter now. "Would you like to feel it? Apparently the baby decided it wants some exercise; there are so many kicks now!"

Kurogane settled his hands on the spot Fay pointed at, waiting. And, indeed, a moment later there was a kick. It felt so weak, but then, the baby was still so small…

"Aww," Fay said happily. "Kuro-rin always has such a dreamy look when he's feeling the baby kick! He's going to be a lovely daddy!"

"I do not look dreamy," Kurogane protested. "It's just that the kid seems to have a good kick for an unborn. It's going to be a great fighter."

The pout, again. "Doesn't Kuro-pipi ever think of anything but fighting?" Fay complained, though he didn't sound very serious about it. "That's so single-minded! The strength of the baby's kick is hardly the most important thing to be concerned about – especially as it's practising those kicks at my insides!"

Kurogane huffed. "If it can't protect itself then it's no child of mine," he muttered.

"What?" Fay's eyes widened in what was most likely shock. "You mean you won't love our baby if it's not perfect? If it has some disability you'll just claim it's not yours? If it's small and weak you'll abandon it? You won't care for it until it's big and strong enough to take care of itself?"

"That's not what I said!" Kurogane hurried to defend himself. When the idiot had that expression, it was better to play along. Especially as his words could indeed be interpreted that way... even though he'd never mean it that way, of course. "I just meant that between my genes and yours, the kid's most likely to be a great fighter! And if it isn't, I'll just have to protect it instead, right?"

"You'd better," Fay huffed. "Since if you say more things like that, I'm going to go away and raise the child all by myself!"

"What?!" Of course, it might have been just one of Fay's usual huffy fits, but perhaps it wasn't just that… He couldn't allow it, of course. However good a fighter Fay was, he was pregnant and off-balance and all other things that made such a thing a bad idea. Never mind the fact that he didn't want to let the mage off his sight even for a single moment. He'd gone through too much to get the idiot to himself to let that all go in vain over one badly chosen sentence.

"However much I like you, Kuro-pipi, I'm not going to raise a child with somebody who only values them based on their fighting skills." A slender finger prodded him in the chest.

"…You should know by now I'm not like that." Seriously, what was wrong with the idiot? If he was only interested in somebody's fighting abilities, he would have found a way to 'misplace' Mokona and its numerous off-springs ages ago.

"Oh, but of course I know that." Fay's smile was back like it had never disappeared like at all. "That's because you are my lovely Kuro-pipi!"

Kurogane sighed. He had no intention of leaving the mage or letting the mage leave him, but at the moment he was quite worried about just how long he would stay sane if he did go through with his intentions and stay together with the idiot…

* * *

**Next chapter: **Babies are born.  



	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** CLAMP owns them.

* * *

TRC: Next Generation

Chapter 4  


* * *

"I'm exhausted," Watanuki whined. "Himawari-chan is really cute, but she can be very tiring as well!" Despite his tiredness, he smiled at the little baby in his arms. "You're going to be spoiled, you little princess," he said fondly. 

"Give her to me," Doumeki said. "You look like death warmed up. You'd better get some rest."

"I guess so." Watanuki handed the child to Doumeki. "I'll take a little nap and then start preparing dinner. We'll have guests, after all."

"Wouldn't it be better for you just to sleep some more?" Doumeki suggested. "We can order some take-out. I'm sure Yukito-san and Touya-san wouldn't mind."

"WHAT?!" Watanuki roared, his exhaustion instantly disappearing to make way for rage. "What exactly are you implying, Doumeki Shizuka? Is my cooking not good enough for you? Not good enough for guests, eh? Are you ashamed of me, perhaps?"

"No, no, no," Doumeki sighed. He should have known better, really. After all these years he knew Watanuki inside and out, and knew of his jealous attitude when it came to food. Well, food and Doumeki. Even the tiniest hint that Doumeki happened to even consider eating anything prepared by anybody else was treated as downright betrayal. Nothing could stop Watanuki's single-minded mission to be the only one to feed his lover – he had even prepared excessive reserves of food in the freezer in case he got injured or fell sick.

Not that Doumeki complained, really. Watanuki's cooking was always excellent; to this date he hadn't encountered even one exception to this rule. However, he wouldn't have minded take-out every now and then if it got Watanuki to rest more. Too bad the bespectacled man wouldn't agree.

This all led to Doumeki playing with Himawari's toes while Watanuki prepared dinner. It was going to be good dinner, judging by the smells – not that Watanuki's dinners were ever anything else than good. The bespectacled man seemed to feel better after his nap, so Doumeki decided not to even try to make him take it easy. Not that he would have succeeded, anyway.

The dinner was ready well before their guests arrived. Doumeki had been slightly surprised when the king of Clow had sent a message, asking whether they could come for a visit to see little Himawari-chan. On another hand, he could understand the curiosity, and wondered whether it was indeed simple curiosity or perhaps involved some plans by the semi-royal couple.

Whatever it was, he thought as he watched Watanuki fussing over Himawari-chan's frilly little dress, he had no doubt the visit would be interesting.

…Even if it was only because he got to tease Watanuki about his fussing…

* * *

"Aw, she's absolutely adorable!" Yukito said for the umpteenth time. "Almost like Sakura-chan when she was a little baby, don't you think, To-ya?" 

"I guess so," Touya said, smiling a bit. "Although the little monster was never this pretty."

"To-ya!" snapped Yukito, while Watanuki grinned proudly at the praise his little daughter received and Doumeki just smirked a bit. "That's not the way to talk of your little sister – and the queen!"

"It's exactly the way," the former king replied calmly. Turning towards Doumeki, he asked, "Is she very noisy at night?"

"Occasionally," Doumeki replied, shrugging. "It's not too much to handle, though. I have to admit we've sometimes got Yuuko-san to look after her for a while so that we can get some sleep."

"I'm sure it's like that with most babies," Yukito said, smiling. "I've never seen such adorable golden eyes on a baby! Have you got the paperwork settled, anyway? I imagine it might be rather difficult in this world, where no magic is officially accepted."

"Yuuko-san took care of that part," Doumeki told. "I'm not sure how she managed it, but she's officially both of our child, with no mention of a mother of any kind. It sure got us a few odd looks when we took her to the doctor for the first time."

"I would think so," Yukito chuckled. "You take care of her most of the time, right?"

"That's right," Watanuki said. "Shizuka looks after both her and the temple while I'm at the university."

Touya smirked. "So that would make you a stay-at-home mum, then, Doumeki-kun?" he asked slyly.

"Nah," Doumeki replied calmly, ignoring Watanuki's triumphant show of joy on the background. "Himawari-chan? Where's mummy?"

The baby gurgled something unintelligible and pointed a chubby finger in the vague direction of Watanuki.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Watanuki wailed. "She's too young to understand those things!"

"I imagine this is a great place to raise a child, though," Yukito hurried to say, hoping to calm the situation. "Especially one with such potential for spiritual powers in her genetics. This temple's wards keep all evil spirits away, am I right?"

"Right!" Watanuki said, smiling. "Yuuko-san's said she's not a Monster Snack Extraordinaire, though, so it doesn't matter so much. Although she might be frightened by evil spirits, so I'm glad they can't get anywhere near her!"

"She can see spirits, then?" Yukito asked. "Can you tell it so early?"

"I hope so," Doumeki replied dryly. "Otherwise, Kimihiro's let an inexistent person look after our daughter. Not that I doubt him, but if Himawari-chan doesn't see the spirit, she might be confused…"

"Shut up!" Watanuki snapped. "Himawari-chan likes the spirit and the spirit likes her! And as your wards don't keep her away, I see no reason not to let her play with Himawari-chan every now and then. It makes them both happy!"

"Oh? What is this spirit?" Yukito asked curiously.

"The spirit of a dead woman dwelling around a cherry tree in the garden," Watanuki replied. "She's a very kind person and likes to play with Himawari-chan – not that I wonder about that; she's so adorable that everybody must like playing with her! Would you like to meet the spirit?" he then asked.

"That might be interesting," Yukito agreed, smiling as ever. "If it wouldn't be too much of a trouble to you, of course."

"Of course not!" Watanuki replied enthusiastically. "She enjoys visitors, but as there are very few people who can see her, she often gets lonely. I'm sure she'd like to meet somebody new!"

"Woe is me," Touya sighed semi-seriously, watching the two men leaving with Himawari-chan in tow. "My lover is visiting people I can't even see."

"It's not easy," Doumeki admitted. "At least you don't have to frequently shoot things you can't see. With an arrow you can't see either, besides."

"Agreed. And at least Yukito doesn't actually make a habit of talking with ghosts, however often he may see them," Touya chuckled. "Aren't you afraid of becoming a minority in your own family, though? What with not being able to see ghosts, yourself."

"Each of us is a minority in some way," Doumeki replied. "Himawari-chan is the only female, and Kimihiro is the only one the Mokonas call April's Fool."

"So she has your family name, eh?" Touya smirked. "How did Watanuki-kun react to that?"

Doumeki shrugged. "At first he threw a fit, of course, but when I pointed out that he got to pick the first name he mostly calmed down."

"Then what about you?" asked the king. "Is it all the same to you?"

The archer looked calm as ever. "With any other name, it would be indeed about the same to me," he replied. "However… I have to admit I'm kind of glad I'll never have to hear the name 'Watanuki Himawari.'"

"Jealous of a dead woman?"

"Wouldn't you be?" Doumeki's expression still didn't change in the slightest.

Touya thought about it for a moment. Most people would have thought jealousy of that kind to be useless at best. Then again, most people didn't know for a fact their lover could see and communicate with dead people…

"I guess I would," he thus replied.

"Where are the Mokonas, anyway?" Doumeki asked after a while. "I've learnt to be wary whenever they are out of sight for more than half an hour. Not that Shadow is much of a trouble, but Larg often gets up to things I'd rather not mention…"

"I think I'd rather not know just what they are doing," Touya replied dryly. "Starlight's more of an occasional annoyance than an actual problem, but I've come to notice that bringing more than one Mokona together is just asking for trouble."

"Can't be much worse than more than one Kimihiro." At Touya's questioning look Doumeki rolled his eyes. "You see, there was this one spirit capable of imitating people, and –"

As the story unfolded – told rather briefly and lacking any description, but still getting the message across –, Touya came to consider that perhaps being endlessly pestered by idiotic royal advisors wasn't the worst kind of trouble one could get into due to their choice of lover.

* * *

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Yuuko asked. "It is, after all, a great responsibility, as you are well aware of, I'm sure." 

"More aware than you," Touya spat. "We're not about to abandon our child just because it happens to suit some 'plans' of ours."

"To-ya," Yukito said quietly. "That is hardly acceptable."

Yuuko, however, seemed to ignore her son's words. "I'll need a strand of hair from you both," she said. "The egg will be waiting for you in two days."

"What do we owe you for this, Yuuko-san?" asked Yukito politely as ever.

Yuuko gave them a long gaze. "…The price has already been paid," she replied quietly. "The price for this, and a great many other things."

"It better have been," Touya grumbled. As Yukito glanced at him, he turned his gaze away. "I am thankful, but don't expect me to forgive you, bitch."

"I never would." Yuuko smiled a bit. However, the smile was not exactly cheerful.

* * *

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" The servant hurrying towards Sakura seemed quite assured of the urgency of his message. 

"What on Earth has happened?" asked Sakura, looking up from her little baby's face. His sudden arrival before the estimated time had surprised them all, but she couldn't say she was unhappy. Little Tomi may have been small, but he was still perfect. Her little son.

Everybody in the palace seemed infatuated with her child. Even the toughest guards turned into cooing softies at the merest smile from the little crown prince. Though Tomi didn't appear to have any magical powers – not yet, at least – he definitely had some inner charm that he spread around quite freely.

"Your brother, Your Majesty," the servant told her, out of breath. "He has returned, along with the High Priest, Your Majesty!"

"What?" Sakura was instantly on her feet. "When did they arrive? Where are they? Get them here at once!" Oh, how she had missed them both!

"I'm already here, Your Majesty," Yukito said from the doorway, smiling. "I'm afraid Touya got cornered by some of the older advisors of yours. They apparently weren't too happy with his sudden disappearance."

"Yukito-san!" Sakura exclaimed, hurrying to greet him with Tomi on her arm. "You definitely took your time returning!"

"Blame your brother, Your Majesty," the priest replied with a warm smile. "He didn't want to return until closer to the birth of your child. His early arrival took us by surprise, though, but we did do our best to return as soon as possible."

There was something wrong with Yukito. Something about the way his cloak fell around him… "Um… Yukito-san?" Sakura asked, looking at the High Priest. "What's that you're carrying?"

"Oh, this?" Yukito smiled. "Just a little something we picked up during our journey." He pushed his cloak aside, revealing a tiny figure in his arms. "Your Majesty, meet Shiro-kun."

"Aw, he's so cute!" Sakura chirped. "And he looks almost exactly the same as Tomi-kun, except for the hair!" Then, she looked confused. "…But where'd he come from?" she asked.

"Ah, Yuuko-san was involved in the matter," Yukito replied with another smile. "Let's just say that he is indeed the rightful child of your brother and myself."

"When was he born?" Sakura asked. "I wonder whether he's older or younger than Tomi-kun!"

"Oh, he's just a week old," the priest replied. "That's why we didn't arrive sooner; we didn't want to subject a newborn to the stress of crossing dimensions right away. And as for being older or younger, well, we received word of the birth of your son in the evening of Shiro-kun's birthday."

"So they were born at the same day!" Sakura exclaimed. "That's exciting! But… it does make me wonder…"

"Yes? What are you wondering about?"

"Which one of them is going to inherit the throne?"

* * *

All in all, it was quite confusing. They had no certain way of telling which one of the children was older. Some advisors announced that since Touya obviously was capable of carrying on the line, he should take his throne back as Sakura had offered. Others argued that since he had given up his right to the throne, it should not be returned to him. 

In the end, they came to something of an agreement: The two would take turns in ruling the country, thus having more time to devote to their family lives. Any major decisions they would do together. (Although a clause had been added – much by Sakura's insistence – that Touya, being the more experienced one, would always have the final say. Due to this little addition some had taken to again calling Sakura 'princess', at which she didn't seem to take much offence.)

The matter of the heirs, however, was even more complicated. Their calculations seemed to point more to the direction of Shiro being older, though nothing could be proved for sure. He was also the son of Touya, who had not only been a king before Sakura's ascending the throne, but also the firstborn male heir of their father. Some people still felt quite strongly about preserving the male line, also claiming that Tomi, the son of a peasant, was not of noble enough blood to become their future king.

While the main points of the supporters of Shiro were that he was the direct successor of a purely male line of kings and the son of the firstborn king – apparently, Sakura had only looked after the throne for a bit while Touya was away – the supporters of Tomi more concentrated on the nature of their king's relationship. Shiro may have been older, and even the son of the older one of the siblings, but he was illegitimate. Not only that, but – physically or magically – he was the result of the king's rather scandalous affair with the High Priest, one they were more than hesitant to make public knowledge. Homosexuality wasn't really a crime, but it was definitely unusual and definitely not something the king should be involved in. Especially not with the one and only High Priest.

The debate was ended when Sakura, obviously quite fed up with the constant argument, suggested that they could call both boys crown princes and figure out the ruling part later when there was actually need for it. Her son was her son, she announced, not some toy for bored old advisors to fight over when there was no way he'd take the throne for several years at least.

Never before had Touya agreed with Sakura more than now.

* * *

"Kuro-pon?" 

Kurogane grunted something unintelligible and kept his eyes firmly closed. Yes, he was very much asleep, and no, he was not about to get up just to get the mage another glass of water. If Fay didn't want to be treated like something easily breakable he'd better not act like a child, either. He was perfectly capable of getting water all by himself.

"Kuro-pipi!" Fay's voice sounded more urgent now as he poked the ninja's side. "Kuro-rin, I know you're not asleep, so wake up. Now."

"What is it?" Kurogane grumbled. No use trying to pretend sleep anymore, as he knew very well. "Are you thirsty again?"

"No." Fay leant over him, the blue eyes shining with some inner light even in the darkness of their room. "Kuro-tan, I think our baby wants to join us around now."

"What?!" Kurogane couldn't remember when he had last been so shocked. Sure, he had been aware that the child was going to be born eventually – even more so as there seemed to be a flood of babies in their extended family lately – but still… He hadn't expected it to happen right now. Although he did suspect he would have been just as shocked regardless of the actual time…

"This is, I'm fairly sure, labour that I'm in," Fay told with admirable calmness. "So I would quite appreciate you if you got Tomoyo-hime –" he grimaced a bit "– before I rip an eye from your head." Okay. So much for the calmness, then.

"Sure, sure. Right away." Kurogane got up – and remembered to put some clothes on, too – and hurried towards the princess's room after making sure Fay would be all right for a while. (He almost indeed got an eye clawed out. Apparently Fay didn't appreciate stupid questions when he was in pain.)

He wasn't really surprised to find Tomoyo already awake, along with Souma. After he escorted them to Fay they again tried to drive him away, but he refused to leave. He'd been there when the baby had been created so he was damn well going to be there when it was born, he claimed, and Fay hardly had anything he hadn't seen yet, and besides if birthing room was not allowed for men then what was Fay doing there anyway? In the end, they let him stay, even though he was told to stay well out of the way and make himself as unnoticeable as possible.

Afterwards Kurogane was not entirely sure just how it had happened. All he could tell was that there were quite a few curses, some magic, and an awfully sharp knife involved. He decided he didn't want to remember the exact details.

The moment his mind truly started working was when something was given into his arms, wrapped in a blanket. "It's a boy," Tomoyo said, and smiled. "Congratulations."

Kurogane looked down at the tiny figure in his arms, amazed. Wrapped in a luxurious blanket was a little baby boy, a few jet-black circlets of hair adorning the mostly bald head. The tiny eyebrows seemed to be set into a permanent frown.

Then, however, the child opened his eyes. Instead of the usual baby-blue Kurogane had seen sometimes in newborn children's eyes, his son's eyes were a dazzling blue colour that seemed to swirl with energy.

Oh, yes. There was no question about whether the child had inherited Fay's magic or not.

Long, thick eyelashes brushed the tiny cheeks as the baby blinked, still looking at him. Then a toothless smile spread on the tiny face, coaxing a smile onto the ninja's face as well.

Carefully Kurogane touched one little palm. The tiny hand immediately grasped onto his finger, holding tight.

"He needs a name," Tomoyo reminded, interrupting his moment with the child. "Have you decided on anything?"

Kurogane nodded. "He'll be Kiyoshi," he said, well remembering his and Fay's conversations on the subject. Then, just because he could, he added, "Our son Kiyoshi."

"Kiyoshi-kun is a lucky little boy," Tomoyo said happily. "After all, not everybody is born as the son of a lord, right?"

Kurogane gave her a blank look. "…Lord?"

"Oh, yes! I didn't mention it to you, did I?" Tomoyo smiled cheerfully. "I talked with my sister, the empress. We both feel it would be the best if you took your father's old position as the Lord of Suwa."

For a moment, Kurogane was quiet. It wasn't that he disliked the thought of actually receiving the title he had been raised for, but… "Have I not guarded you well enough?" he asked seriously.

"Oh, it's not that at all!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "You have been doing an excellent job, Kurogane. However, I have other ninjas who managed to keep me safe well enough while you were away. Now that you have a family of your own, it would be better for you to have a stable life instead of being bound to a childish princess's every whim. And besides, it is your rightful position, is it not?"

"It's either that," Kurogane said, "or you just want to get the chance to design 'lord-like' clothes for us."

The princess smiled happily. "Oh, Kurogane knows me so well!" she exclaimed. "Of course you and Fay-san and Kiyoshi-kun all need more lordly attire! Oh, I can't wait…"

Kurogane sighed. This was not the way a princess was supposed to act…

Still, he couldn't help but smile. At last, he would get to protect that which he had been born to guard.

…If he could keep his lover and son alive, too…

* * *

"Isn't it amazing, Kuro-pon?" Fay asked with a brilliant smile. "We made a little life together!" 

"Indeed," Kurogane said, looking down at little Kiyoshi. The baby was currently held in the mage's arms, drinking from one of the bottles they had brought from Yuuko's world. "A little life that can produce damn much noise for somebody so small!"

Fay chuckled, a bit tiredly but still happily. "All babies are like that, Kuro-pipi," he said gently. "It's because their only way to ensure their survival is to wail whenever something is wrong."

Kurogane shrugged. "Well, I guess it was too much to ask of somebody with your genes to actually stay true to their name. At least a name like his."

"Oh, don't be like that." Fay smiled down at their son. "He's perfectly quiet right now, isn't he?"

"That's only because his mouth is currently otherwise occupied," Kurogane pointed out. "He's apparently takes after you in everything."

"Now, now, Kuro-pipi," the mage laughed, "you're just being bitter because our son is a mage too, aren't you? You wanted him to be just a big, bad samurai to carry on the line and rely on swords above anything else!"

"Oh, shut up." However much Kurogane wanted to deny it, he couldn't help but think that samurai or not, he couldn't think of a more perfect creature in all the world at the moment than the pink little bundle in Fay's arms. Even if the child was noisy and magical and all too likely to inherit the mage's insufferable character – because Kurogane couldn't be lucky enough to get another sensible person in the family – Kiyoshi was his son. And, as far as he was concerned, perfect in every way that mattered at all.

Not that he'd ever say it aloud, of course.

"Kuro-pipi?" Fay asked after a moment of comfortable silence. (You knew the mage was indeed tired when there actually was some silence.)

"Hm?" the ninja replied, too concentrated on watching Kiyoshi to give a single complete word for an answer. The boy kept his hands in small, adorable little fists. He was going to be a great fighter some day, that Kurogane would make sure about, even if he wielded magic rather than a sword.

…Not that there was anything wrong with using both, of course…

"What's this I hear about you being the Lord of Suwa?"

Now, Kurogane did look up to the mage. When had Tomoyo had the chance to talk with the mage when he hadn't been around? Or had Souma revealed it?

"Nothing important," he thus said. "It used to be my father's title when I was just a kid. Tomoyo just informed me a moment ago that she's going to give the said title to me. Apparently, by her logic, fighting off monsters on a daily basis is a more 'stable' task for a family man than keeping her safe from assassins."

Fay smiled. "Oh, my Kuro-pon's such an important person!" he said happily. "And if you fight the monsters, it means I'll have to put up the wards around Suwa, right? If Kuro-rin's father fought monsters and his mother kept up wards, then it's only logical for Kiyoshi-chan's parents to have the same tasks!"

"If you think you're up to it." In all honesty, though, Kurogane had to admit that Fay's magic was most probably far more powerful than his mother's had ever been. The mage was more than well capable of keeping up kekkais that were considerably more powerful than the ones protecting Suwa in his childhood. There would be hardly any monsters to fight.

Of course, that didn't mean he was going to stop pestering the mage about not overexerting himself. It was his right as the idiot's lover.

"Oh, I'm definitely up to it!" Fay chirped. "And now Kuro-pon has no more reason to bully me because Kiyoshi-chan has already been born!" He smiled down at the little thing. "And when Kiyoshi-chan grows up enough I'll teach him to raise kekkais, too!"

Kurogane sighed. "At least wait until he's learnt to talk, okay?"

Fay pouted, now. "Stupid Kuro-rin, always spoiling others' fun…"

* * *

Tomoyo was, in general, a kind and gentle person. However, had she been able to, she would have gladly turned Lord Kerokawa into something small and fluffy and fed him to something particularly big and nasty. Unfortunately, she couldn't – not because she didn't have the powers or skill to do so, but because of his political influence. 

Lord Kerokawa was one of the lesser lords in Nihon, but still one of the most powerful ones among them. And his loyalty to the empress was vague to say the least, too. Needless to say, Tomoyo had to treat him with utmost care lest something horrible might unfold.

Still, he was a nasty, stubborn, and terribly boring man. Any conversation with him was torture – and yet here she was, currently talking with him. She would have much rather been helping Fay and Kurogane as they prepared to move to Suwa. Alas, a princess could not always do like she wanted – no matter what Kurogane claimed – and politically flammable issues took priority over packing shiny things for friends.

Thankfully she was saved from having to respond to yet one of his absolutely boring comments by the sudden arrival of somebody else. Looking towards the door, she saw that Fay had entered, carrying Kiyoshi.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tomoyo-hime," Fay said cheerfully, starting to back out of the door. "I did not know that you had a visitor."

"It is quite okay, Fay-san," said Tomoyo, who was actually quite relieved at the interruption. "Did you have something to ask from me?"

"Well, yeah," Fay said. "Kuro-pipi told me to ask just how many of your ninjas you're planning to send along, since there are apparently quite a few volunteers and he's convinced he doesn't need any at all…"

"Oh, that Kurogane, ever so stubborn." Tomoyo smiled. "Tell him that Souma's screened the volunteers already and he should take along all that come to him."

"Understood." Fay grinned. "Kuro-rin won't like that, though – not that you ever expected him to, of course."

"Excuse me, Your Highness," Lord Kerokawa said, apparently shocked at Fay's casual way of talking with the princess, "but who exactly is this?"

"Ah, excuse me!" Tomoyo said. "Fay-san, this is Lord Kerokawa. Lord Kerokawa, this is Fay-san, the lover of the Lord of Suwa. They are currently preparing to return to their own lands –" not that Fay had ever been there before "– and I'm afraid it's taking up not only most of their time but also some of mine."

Kerokawa looked at Fay, appearing rather unimpressed at the blonde's very non-respected status as a mere lover, especially a male one. "And the child?" he asked.

"Oh, this is Kiyoshi-chan!" Fay chirped happily, either not noticing or completely ignoring the other man's disapproval. Most likely the latter, considering this was Fay. "The next Lord of Suwa and the most adorable little baby in this world. And I'm his proud mummy!" Without any invitation he hurried forward to show his little son to the lord.

Either realizing the possible political advantages or simply charmed by the baby's smile – while the former was more probable, Tomoyo preferred to think it was the latter – Lord Kerokawa actually nodded approvingly as he saw Kiyoshi up close. "You wouldn't consider betrothing him to my daughter, I presume?" His tone made it very clear he expected Fay to agree right away.

"I'm sorry, but no," Fay replied cheerfully. "I want Kiyoshi-chan to make his own decisions when he gets older!" Then, making Tomoyo once again wonder just what kind of a life he had led in his own dimension to be so perspective in some aspects of political matters despite his rather… light… take on others, he continued, "I would advise, though, that you approach Lord Kasenai in this matter. I seem to recall that he has a son who has not yet been promised to anyone, yet he might be willing to make such an agreement with you."

Ah, yes. Lord Kasenai, one of the more influential people among the lesser lords – and one of the empress and Tomoyo's most loyal supporters. A marriage between his family and that of Kerokawa's would definitely be a great thing politically.

And to think Tomoyo hadn't even been aware that Fay had even heard of him, never mind actually remembering both his name and political meaning… Fay would definitely make a fine companion to Kurogane, who, while a great fighter, was not equally great in political issues.

Tomoyo smiled in satisfaction. Apparently she and her sister hadn't been mistaken in their choice.

It might have been little Kiyoshi's influence, or Fay might have used some of his unique magic – very rare people could resist his charm even when he didn't try to do anything – Lord Kerokawa was actually easier to deal with after Fay had left. Whatever it was, Tomoyo sent a quiet thanks to the little child and his 'mother'. The palace would be a lot more boring without them around.

Ah, well. That just meant she would have to visit them often, right?

* * *

**Next chapter: **The delights and difficulties of being a parent.**  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** CLAMP owns them.

* * *

TRC: Next Generation

Chapter 5  


* * *

It was, Touya noted, well past midnight. A time of the day he usually spent sleeping soundly. Yet here he was, not comfortably asleep in his bed as usual, but instead standing in the middle of the chilly room, listening to a child's wails.

He'd often wondered why the parents of newborns seemed so tired. Now he knew. Even if he could have just left and gone to bed – which he wouldn't do even if he could, as he was not about to abandon Yukito in such a situation – he wouldn't have been able to sleep because of the baby's wailing. For such a small thing Shiro definitely had a great set of lungs.

"He doesn't seem to be calming down," Yukito stated the obvious, looking down at the child he was in vain trying to get to calm down. "He's dry, though, and I just fed him. What can be wrong with him?"

"He probably just hates us," Touya sighed, ignoring the sharp gaze Yukito send to his direction at this comment. "Don't look like that. Just give the kid to me. It's about my turn anyway." Taking his only son and heir from his lover's arms, he started walking around, trying to hum something resembling a song to calm him. Not that it did any good, the little monster just cried anyway.

It was moments like these, Touya thought, that truly made him wonder just what had possessed him to return to the Witch of Dimensions. His bitch of a mother was probably laughing to herself now, amused at her son's naivety. He was now determined never to talk to her again. "Now, do you understand why I left you behind?" would doubtlessly be her first comment.

He, however, wouldn't repeat her mistake. He wouldn't leave his child behind no matter what. Even if he was yearning for a proper night's sleep, even if it was difficult to keep the baby milk from the other dimension from going bad in the heat, even if sometimes everything seemed to be crumbling down on him… Still, it wasn't bad enough for him to even consider such a thing.

This was his son. It was his responsibility to look after him. And he'd be damned if he gave his mother any reason to suspect he was in the least bit similar to her.

Of course, these were not the only reasons, he thought as Shiro's wails finally faded to little hiccups, most likely because the baby, too, was tired of the endless wailing. There were other, far more important reasons for him staying there, for not going back to bed when the child wailed, for feeling very much ready to sacrifice his own life to protect the little thing if needed.

At times like these, Touya reminded himself, watching as Yukito took the now sleeping baby and kissed his tiny nose before laying him back in the cradle, he remembered just what those reasons were.

At times like these, when he saw his lover smiling happily though tiredly and looking down at the tiny hand that had grasped on his finger, he remembered just why he had wanted the child at the first place.

* * *

"Come on, Kiyoshi-chan, say 'Mama!'" Fay encouraged the little thing in his arms. "It's not that hard, see? Ma-ma. Just be a good boy and say 'Mama' for Fay-mommy, okay?"

"It's too early to try to teach him to speak," Kurogane said reasonably, trying not to roll his eyes at the blonde's efforts. "At least wait until he's a bit older." And, preferably, not start with such words. Not that he had any chance in winning that particular argument, not when he was facing Fay. If the mage had been a mother to Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona, he was definitely going to be a mother for his own son, even if he was probably the most male mother ever.

As for the manliest mother ever… that was not really certain, as it was Fay in question.

Although he did keep giving the two sideways glances, Kurogane didn't really follow what his lover was doing with their son. It wasn't like he could actually teach the child any words yet, so this was a relatively harmless pastime for Fay. Who knew what he would come up with if he didn't have the child to play with?

"Don't be so mean, Kiyoshi-chan. You know it would make Fay-mommy so happy!" Fay tried to reason with the baby, to no avail. Kurogane was almost relieved. He knew very well that the blonde was going to make the kid call him mother, but the longer it took for Kiyoshi to learn the word, the better. Kurogane could at least pretend he wasn't living with a madman until then.

Kiyoshi was making small, unidentifiable sounds that were definitely not words in any known language. Then, after another little string of little gurgles, he said with his adorable baby voice, "Nyaaaah."

Fay clapped his hands together with a broad smile. "Listen, Kuro-pin!" he laughed, pointing at the baby. "Kiyoshi-chan is not a baby, he's a kitten! He's Baby Kitty!"

For some reason, Kurogane suddenly had a very bad feeling.

* * *

"If I hear somebody calling Shiro-kun a bastard one more time – just one more time! – I'm going to have them executed."

"Calm down, To-ya," Yukito replied, calm as ever. "It's not like they're exactly wrong, even, you know."

"Yes, I know." Sighing, the king of Clow let himself fall onto the bed next to his lover. "That only makes it worse."

"Well, there's not much you can do about it, is there?" Yukito asked reasonably, lightly brushing a hand against Touya's cheek. "The fact is, you aren't married, yet you have a child. That makes the said child illegitimate as far as I understand it."

"I said, I know," Touya grumbled. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Look on the bright side," Yukito said. "At least nobody's even tried to question whether he's your rightful heir or not. Trouble with the throne or not, everybody seems convinced Shiro-chan indeed is your son."

"Good for them. If somebody tries to question that, I won't guarantee their survival."

The murderous expression on the king's face made Yukito chuckle slightly. "Violent as ever, aren't you, my dear?"

"You of all people should know I'm not violent. I just don't try to hide my rightful anger."

"Oh, sure." Yukito snorted. "What next? You're simply doing people a favour by taking your anger out on them? Out of all the people I know, you are the only one who can draw their sword faster than they blink an eye."

"Don't exaggerate." Rolling over to his side, Touya smiled at Yukito. "Besides, you knew all that before you got involved with me. It's kind of late to complain now, don't you think?"

"I suppose so." Yukito didn't sound overly disappointed at the fact.

"Glad we agree." Touya was quiet for a while. Then, somewhat suddenly, he said, "Yuki, let's get married."

Yukito gave him a puzzled glance. "…That's a joke, right?"

"No, seriously, Yuki. Let's get married. Let's have a grand royal wedding with official guests from all the neighbouring countries and Nihon, too, and piss my idiotic advisors off as completely as we only can. If anybody dares to call Shiro-kun a bastard after that I'll banish them from Clow for good."

"Well, I guess you could do that," Yukito said slowly. "However, it's hardly the best way to act if you want to win the advisors back to your side."

"Yuki, after my little trip, nothing can push them further away from me. This'd only give them one less thing to complain about. If I eliminate some more complaints, maybe they will actually say something beneficial for the ruling of the country for once." He gave the High Priest a sly gaze. "Or is it that you don't want to get married to me, Yuki?"

At that, Yukito simply laughed. "You should know the answer to that by now."

* * *

"There sure are a lot of people here," Fay said, glancing around the hall in which the wedding guests had been assembled to wait for the beginning of the ceremony. "Then again, it's to be expected of the king's wedding!"

"I should think so," Kurogane replied dryly. "It would be kind of strange if there weren't a lot of people in a royal wedding, don't you think?"

"It's really romantic, though," the blonde chirped. "They've been together for so long, and finally, they're going to make their relationship official! Too bad everybody seems to be determined to make it as difficult as they can."

"Well, some of the difficulties are quite understandable," Doumeki commented from their side. According to the young man, he wasn't entirely sure just why he and Watanuki had been invited, but suspected it had something to do with Sakura. Well, Sakura and the fact that he had managed to save the queen's life at least once. Touya tended to be grateful to those helping his sister, however much he liked to annoy her. "As Yukito-san is the High Priest, he couldn't very well wed them, and choosing a substitute is a politically rather flammable issue, since whoever does it is given essentially the same position as the High Priest himself." Kurogane raised an eyebrow. The boy was getting more talkative. Living with the panicky boy was obviously affecting him.

"Then who did they decide on in the end?" Watanuki asked, looking up from his ever-important task of fussing over Himawari's hair. "That guy who was a substitute High Priest while Yukito-san was away?"

"It would have been the most logical choice, yes," Fay said, rearranging Kiyoshi's miniature kimono for the umpteenth time. "However, apparently there was some talk about favourites and bloodlines and whatnot, and it would have been politically incorrect for either the king or the High Priest to make such a decision by themselves, so it wouldn't work."

"It's too complicated anyway," Kurogane growled. "What does it matter who weds them as long as they get married?"

"This, Kuro-pin," Fay said with a giggle, "is exactly why Tomoyo-chan asked me to become your political advisor, among other things." Ignoring the ninja's dark glare, he continued his earlier explanation, "Anyway, I heard they finally decided on somebody who has no connections to any particular group within the government. Apparently Touya-san protested for some reason, but Yukito-san changed his mind."

"Oh?" Watanuki asked. "And who might that be?"

"Apparently," Fay replied calmly, "the king's mother."

Realization dawned in Doumeki's eyes. "You don't mean –"

"Ah, it's good to be home again!" a cheerful voice announced. "Hi there, Himawari-chan! Oh, you're wearing the dress grandma gave you, that's great!" Of course, it was Yuuko, clad in one of her most complicatedly decorated – and, naturally, most revealing – dresses.

"Yuuko-san!" Watanuki exclaimed, startled by the woman's sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"

"Whaaat?" Yuuko pouted. "Are you saying I can't be present at my only son's wedding? I'm hurt! Especially as I'm going to wed them!"

"Do you even have the qualifications for that?" Kurogane asked dryly. He was not about to trust the witch, it seemed.

"Of course! I'm perfectly qualified to wed people in at least twenty-seven religions from 135 different dimensions! Did you really think I have nothing better to do with my time than tease you, Kurogane-san?"

"Actually, yes."

"Then you would be wrong." Yuuko smirked. "Teasing Watanuki is so much more fun."

"Yuuko-san, please," Watanuki whined. "That can't be necessary…"

"Where are the Mokonas, anyway?" Yuuko asked then. "I wanted to talk with them a bit before the actual ceremony!"

"I saw a couple of them bouncing that way," Doumeki replied, pointing to the side. "Doubtlessly they're having a family reunion over there."

"Great." Yuuko smiled. "This is going to be great! Both my children, all my grandchildren, Kiyoshi-chan, and all the Mokonas in the same place – nothing could make this any better!" With this and one last cackle, she left them in search of the Mokonas.

Fay smiled, Doumeki seemed indifferent, Kiyoshi yawned, and Himawari smiled. Watanuki and Kurogane, however, simply stared after the witch. Then, they turned to look at each other.

"I don't blame the king for protesting," Kurogane said dryly. Watanuki nodded in agreement.

* * *

Despite Touya's protests and Yuuko's meddling, the wedding went well. The king finally got married to his High Priest, which was of course the primary goal. Yuuko got to spoil her grandchildren – the two biological ones and the two others, as Kiyoshi seemed to have been adopted as one too – and drive certain fathers of her grandchildren crazy. The Mokonas bounced around with seemingly no intention of getting tired, Watanuki threw seven fits, Kurogane lost his calm three times, Tomoyo and Yuuko made fast friends – much to the horror of most of the people who knew them – and the babies enjoyed the endless attention they received. And, of course, the royal advisors were annoyed to no end, at least those of them who weren't busy being shocked at the sudden reappearance of their thought-to-be-late queen.

All this was apparently affecting Fay in ways Kurogane did not appreciate. This was made more than clear as the blonde clung to him, Kiyoshi on his other arm

"Hey, Kuro-rin!" Fay said brightly. "Why don't we get married, too?"

"Why should we get married?" Kurogane asked grumpily. "Everybody knows that we're together, anyway. And it wouldn't even change your title – mother or not, you hardly can be the Lady of Suwa."

Fay put on his most convincing expression. "But, Kuro-pii," he whined, "I was hoping that…" His voice trailed off, accompanied by a miserable look.

"Hoping what? That I'd actually agree?"

"It's not that," sighed Fay either in deep disappointment or an extremely good mimicry thereof, both of which were equally probable, considering this was Fay. "I just thought that if we were officially married, nobody would call me just your boy toy anymore… or try to guess when you'll tire of me and throw both me and 'the little bastard' out." At the latest comment he held Kiyoshi just a bit closer to his chest.

Whoever was near enough to observe could see the former determination on Kurogane's face turning into barely controlled rage. This rage was, however, clearly not directed at the blonde in front of him. "Who's saying that?" he asked, seething. "I'll make them pay!"

"I won't tell," Fay replied. "The way you are now, you'd probably kill them, and however mean they are, I don't want you to kill anybody because of me." He gave the ninja his best convincing smile with just the right amount of sadness mixed in. "But if we were married, I'm sure they wouldn't dare say such things…"

"Feh." Frowning, Kurogane snorted. "Whatever I say, you're going to twist it back to that anyway, aren't you?"

"Kuro-tan knows me so well," Fay chirped. "But that's exactly why he is my Kuro-pon!"

* * *

Compared with the magnificent state wedding, this one was small and quiet, with just a few people present. Syaoran and Sakura were there, of course, and most of the Mokonas, but otherwise, no guests were permitted. (Tomoyo had, despite Kurogane's numerous protests, decided that it was her task to wed them and if that went against traditions it didn't matter since two men didn't traditionally get married anyway). Kiyoshi watched quietly from Syaoran's arms – Sakura's being reserved for the slightly older Tomi – as his parents finally were officially bound as a marital unit.

"I think he understands what's happening," Fay laughed, pointing at Kiyoshi. "Kiyoshi-chan's been smiling the whole time."

"That or he's just amused at our ridiculous costumes," Kurogane grumbled. Unsurprisingly, Tomoyo had taken it upon herself to design their clothes. Although he had to admit the kimono was very much to his tastes – simple, manly, and not likely to get in the way – he'd be damned if he didn't complain about it.

Fay looked great in his own kimono, though, that had to be admitted – much though the ninja hated to say so. Although it wasn't a woman's kimono like Kurogane had feared – not that Tomoyo would have minded, but apparently even Fay drew a line somewhere, unbelievable though that may have been – it was definitely much more feminine than anybody with a penis should have been able to carry gracefully. Unsurprisingly, though, Fay managed to look great in it, somehow managing to even appear clearly male despite the delicate design.

Very femininely male, yes. But still male. Kurogane was vaguely impressed at this fact.

"What's his title going to be, anyway?" he asked Tomoyo after the main ceremony was over and Fay was concentrated on fussing over the babies. "It's not like he can be the Lady of Suwa, no matter what."

"Oh, that's easy," Tomoyo replied with a smile. "He'll be the Lord Consort of Suwa!" At Kurogane's expression, she giggled. "We made it up just for him, but it's still an official title! Isn't it just great?"

"…Whatever, I guess," Kurogane huffed. "As long as nobody calls him my wife, I'm satisfied."

* * *

"Did you hear the news yet?" Yuuko asked cheerfully, her eyes intent on watching Himawari-chan who apparently found her new toy very interesting and very fit to stick into her little mouth. Watanuki had, naturally, panicked over the notion of Himawari-chan playing with absolutely anything found from Yuuko's store, and had only marginally calmed down when the witch had assured him the child's current object of interest was simply what it looked like, a chewing toy, with no magical or mysterious traits attached. "Fay-san and Kurogane-san got married, too!"

"Ah," Doumeki said, acknowledging the news. Though he was – like Kurogane had also noticed – more talkative nowadays, he still had his moments of silence, which often were very long. It was like he had exhausted his vocabulary with all the talking he had done in the Clow wedding.

"It's so romantic," Yuuko sighed dreamily. "Everyone is getting married with their loved one – except for you," she finished. "You're the only unmarried ones among the parents of my grandchildren, now."

"It doesn't matter, does it?" sighed Watanuki. "It's not like we can get married anyway."

"Is that so?" Yuuko smirked in her usual mysterious way. As Watanuki gave her a confused gaze, the smirk just broadened. "When you ask humans, it may be impossible, but… This world of humans, it's not the only one around here, is it?"

"What do you mean?" Watanuki asked. Of course, he knew better than well about the spiritual world all around them, but what exactly did that have to do with marriage?

"The bond between you and Doumeki-kun, it's not something to be taken lightly." The smirk was just as superior as always. "Your souls are linked with such a strong tie that they cannot be separated anymore. In the spirit world you seem to have forgotten," a chuckle, "that kind of a bond is more binding than any human marriage."

"If that's so," Doumeki said, "why do you still call us unmarried?" A good point, Watanuki had to admit.

"Because it isn't official yet, of course!" Yuuko exclaimed. "Bond or no bond, even the spiritual world has some kind of ceremonies!"

Watanuki glanced at Doumeki and sighed. Judging by the archer's expression, there was no escaping now. Although Doumeki probably wouldn't say anything – aside from perhaps a very brief, very simple proposal – there was no way he was getting out of this without this 'spiritual marriage'.

Of course, he didn't mind it. Much though he may have protested whenever somebody suggested anything like it, and much though he yelled at the other man, he indeed loved his dear Doumeki Shizuka. Had he known of it before, he would have probably been the one to suggest marriage, even – if not otherwise, then to make sure Doumeki didn't regret hanging around him, self-confidence not exactly being one of his strongest points. Now, however, he wasn't exactly eager to go through it, no matter how much he might have liked the idea under other circumstances.

After all, no idea coming from Yuuko could lead to anything good.

* * *

** Next chapter: **Children grow up so fast -- together. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** CLAMP owns them.

* * *

TRC: Next Generation

Chapter 6  


* * *

"Kimihiro."

"Yes, Shizuka?" Watanuki looked up from where he had been folding Himawari-chan's clean clothes. He enjoyed housework, and he enjoyed it even more when it involved his dear little princess.

Suddenly, Doumeki was standing before him, thrusting something at his face. "We're getting married."

It took Watanuki a second to realize that the object being held right in front of his eyes was a ring. It took him another second to think of a reaction. Then, he exploded.

"What's that?" he asked. "Just 'we're getting married,' eh? Do you think that will do it? You're supposed to ask me, you big jerk, not just announce it like that! Don't you think my opinion perhaps matters just the tiniest bit, too, hm? I bet you've already even arranged for whatever ceremony Yuuko-san had in mind!"

"Ah." The idiot didn't even have the decency to look ashamed as he admitted this.

"I knew it! You can never do anything right, can you? I hate you, Doumeki Shizuka! That's simply not the way you should do it! Everything about it is wrong!"

"You don't want to, then?" Doumeki's expression still hadn't wavered from his usual indifference.

"I didn't say that!" Watanuki yelled. "I never said that! Of – of course I want to! Why do you think I've stood your idiocy for years, you big bastard? It'd be nice to be at least asked, though!"

"What's the point?" Doumeki didn't seem to understand. "If you're going to agree anyway…"

"The point is, you're supposed to ask!" wailed the bespectacled man. "Were you born socially incompetent or did you take a course? What if I didn't want to marry you, hm?"

This time, Doumeki's expression actually changed – not much, but definitely enough for Watanuki the Doumeki-Reading Expert to notice. There was actual… sadness, almost, in his expression and tone as he asked, "You don't?" It wasn't much, but it was there.

At any other time Watanuki might have been moved by this evidence that he was one of Doumeki's very rare weak points – their dear daughter being another one. Now, however, he was too busy being angry. "I already said I do!" he yelled. "But you're supposed to ask before you make the arrangements! The whole point of marriage is that it's a mutual decision, not something you do by yourself!"

"Okay, then." Doumeki sighed, mostly out of frustration. "Watanuki Kimihiro, will you marry me?"

"Huh?" Watanuki was so stunned by the fact that Doumeki was apparently listening to him that he actually stopped yelling for a while. "I – well, I guess I will, then."

"Good." A half-smile danced over Doumeki's lips. "We're getting married, then."

"Why, you –!"

* * *

"Look, Kuro-tan!" Fay exclaimed joyfully. "Kiyoshi-chan can stand on his own!"

"I see that," Kurogane said, open adoration in his tone. Usually he might have tried to keep up his tough mask, but there was nobody to see him now, and… Well, after he had practically crawled all over the house helping Kiyoshi when the boy had first stood with support, he couldn't get anybody to believe he wasn't interested in the boy's development. "Let's just hope he doesn't fall over…"

"Kuro-pin is always such a worrier, nyaa," Fay giggled. "Relax, Kuro-in. The boy has pretty good stuffing to keep him from getting hurt if he does fall over."

"No he doesn't," Kurogane replied. "I've never even heard of such a skinny baby, never mind seen one besides ours. He's about half of the children's kid's weight. Sure, the doctors all say he's just frail by nature, so it's probably just your genes, but…"

"Well, maybe he isn't as pudgy as Tomi-kun or the others," Fay said happily, "but he's a healthy little baby. Isn't that most important? And besides, he isn't as old as the others, either, so you can't compare them like that."

"I guess so," sighed the ninja, his eyes still fixed on his son who was flailing his arms to keep his balance. "Oh, fuck, he's falling down!"

"Let him," Fay said, watching as Kiyoshi-chan indeed fell on his skinny little bum. "Now, don't panic, Kuro-rin. If you do, he'll get afraid to try standing again. See?" He pointed at the boy who was now trying to get back to his feet. "Little children are much tougher than they look."

"If that's the case," Kurogane muttered darkly, "I sure hope Doumeki-kun locks that brat of his away while their girl practices standing…"

Fay laughed, then pointed at Kiyoshi once again. "Look! I think he's trying to walk!"

"He can't," Kurogane said disbelievingly, although even he felt rather excited. "He's only just learned to stand. He'll fall over again, and this time he'll hurt himself for sure…" Kurogane had never thought of himself as a worrier. As long as no permanent harm was done, he didn't much care about injuries aside from getting them treated if they bled too much. However, for some reason he couldn't even think of Kiyoshi getting hurt. Letting Tomoyo hold the baby without constantly being ready to catch his son if she happened drop Kiyoshi had demanded an almost physical effort on his part.

Ah, well. It was his duty as a father to protect his son, wasn't it? And he'd be damned if he didn't do it, too…

Kiyoshi indeed started to fall, Kurogane letting out an involuntary shout. However, despite his worries, the little boy didn't fall onto his face and hurt himself. With hands reaching for the ground, he performed a rather clumsy but still successful cartwheel, landing on his feet. A bit wobbly, Kiyoshi stood again, a broad toothless smile directed at his parents.

"Nyaaa, that was so cool!" Fay exclaimed. "That's my boy, Kiyoshi-chan, yes that is! Fay-mummy is so proud of you!"

"…Great," Kurogane sighed. "Two idiots to look after…" Somebody who knew him very well, however, would have been able to detect the pride in his voice. Fay, as it happened, knew him very well.

Therefore, Kurogane wasn't really surprised to feel a hand in his own.

* * *

A loud wail echoed through the halls of the royal palace of Clow. A moment later it was followed by a half consoling, half scolding tone.

"Now, that's not nice, Shiro-chan! You mustn't hit others with your sword. If you do that again, I'll take it away, yes I will! And don't cry, Tomi-kun, I'm sure Shiro-chan didn't mean to hurt you, he just didn't realize you would get sad if he hit you. Now, apologize, Shiro-chan! There, all better now, aren't you?"

"Yukito-san is such a wonderful mummy," Fay said cheerfully, smiling as the children now returned to their games. "He can get the children calm down no matter what!"

"Oh, you are much better a mother than I, Fay-san," Yukito replied with a similar smile. "And will you look at Kiyoshi-chan! He's playing so nicely all the time!"

"Oh no, Himawari-chan, don't go there!" Watanuki wailed, rushing to catch his daughter before she could reach out too far from the window. The fall to the ground was long, especially to a little girl. "No, dear, windows aren't a good place to play! Why don't you look at that nice doll instead or something?"

"Watanuki-kun sure has good reflexes," Fay said, still just as cheerful. He apparently wasn't the least bit worried as Kiyoshi was bouncing practically from one wall to another, only pausing to annoy Shiro. The two seemed to have already developed some kind of a strange love-hate relationship – Kiyoshi loved teasing Shiro, who loved getting angry at Kiyoshi.

The children were all different. Himawari was a happy if not a bit pudgy little girl – there was no way anybody could be skinny with Watanuki taking care of their feeding – who only cried if she was hurt. With Watanuki and Yuuko being mostly responsible for her wardrobe, she was usually clad in the girliest of dresses, her long black hair always in two pigtails. Tomi was a quiet and shy little boy, always kind though hesitating, his red hair being the fieriest part of him. He liked playing with Himawari-chan who also preferred calm games, both nicely serving tea to a variety of dolls at the moment.

Shiro, on the other hand, was completely different from his cousin. He was a big little boy, big in the way that suggested he would probably resemble Kurogane in build once he grew up, tall and muscular. Whereas Tomi had red hair, his was almost white blond, well matching their names. In character he was a fiery one, easily irritated especially by Kiyoshi, his favourite toy being a wooden sword he always carried everywhere with him.

Shiro's eternal rival and teaser Kiyoshi was small. Well, in height he wasn't much smaller than the others, despite being the youngest, but he was of the frail kind of child that always seem light enough to be blown by the wind. Not that he probably would have minded – much like his mother, Kiyoshi could never be still for a moment, always bouncing and skipping and somersaulting around. Carrying around a sparkly magic wand he waved around, he more often than not managed to pull his black curls out of the ponytail Fay often arranged it into to keep it out of the way. It was a blessing, all the adults agreed, that his magic was yet to awaken. Who knew what kind of havoc he would cause then.

At the moment, however, the worst he could do was annoy the fiercer crown prince of Clow to no end. And this he was doing well.

"I wonder what's taking them so long," Yukito mused, glancing towards the door of the room as though expecting the children's fathers to walk in any moment. "One monster is not usually much to worry about even when Touya's alone, never mind with three warriors."

"Maybe something has happened?" Watanuki suggested, immediately worried. "Oh, I bet it's Doumeki, that big idiot. He just can't keep his nose out of anything like this, can he? He's only good at archery; if the monster decides to attack he's no good at close combat, he'll get hurt for sure… What will I do if he is hurt? What if the monster's killed him? I can't be a single father! Doumeki you jerk, why did you have to go along? I will –"

The two other men tuned him out, quite used to this by now. Inter-dimensional play dates weren't perhaps too frequent an occurrence but they also lasted quite long, thus providing them with plenty of chances to get to know each other. Thus they knew that not only was Watanuki prone to going to hysterics over the tiniest of reasons, but he was also nigh impossible to calm down. They'd only ever seen Doumeki succeeding in this – more often than not by making him angry instead of agitated. And as Doumeki had now indeed decided to follow the older men to take care of a threatening desert monster, that option was not available.

"I wish the children were a bit older," Fay mused, watching the playing children. "Then we could take them along to see their daddies fighting! That'd be exciting, eh, Yukito-san?"

"Indeed," the High Priest replied. "Shiro-kun sure seems rather interested in fighting – not that anything can be said for sure now, of course, they are only two – so I'm quite confident he will follow his father's footsteps. Not that I mind, of course. If he is going to be the king one day, he will have to be able to fight for the country."

"Ah, yes. You are the one to protect, aren't you, Yukito-san?" Fay smiled. "That is quite admirable! I, too, am responsible for protecting Suwa by keeping up wards around the area. There rarely is anything to protect against, though – my Kuro-rin is so efficient in getting rid of all the onis!"

"So I've come to notice. You are lucky to have such a nice and protective husband, Fay-san!"

"No, you are the lucky one, Yukito-san! Poor Kurogane could never be a king, he's absolutely hopeless at politics, without me he would be completely lost… Although I still love him more than anyone, of course!"

In the background Watanuki continued his fit. Not even the children were paying him any attention.

* * *

"Kimihiro-mummy?" a sleepy voice asked. "Shizuka-daddy?"

"Himawari-chan?" Watanuki asked, blinking sleepily. "What is it, dear?" What could his daughter want in the middle of night?

"I had a bad dweam." Himawari-chan sniffed pitifully. "A weally bad dweam."

"Oh, my! Come here, princess. You can sleep between mummy and daddy." Watanuki was by now rather resigned to being Himawari-chan's "mummy" – not that he still was happy about it, no. However, it wasn't like he was the only one, and at least nobody had ever questioned Yukito-san's gender, so it couldn't be that bad.

By his side, Doumeki shifted a bit as Himawari-chan climbed into the bed. Watanuki smiled tiredly, knowing his dear husband was awake, ready to help if any help was needed. It wasn't necessary, of course. Watanuki could comfort one crying child perfectly well.

"What was the bad dream about, dear?" he asked when Himawari-chan was safely cuddled between her parents. "Maybe talking about it will make it go away."

Himawari-chan sniffled again. "I wanted to sleep between Kimihiro-mummy and Shizuka-daddy," she muttered, "but you wouldn't let me."

For a moment, Watanuki wasn't sure how to react. Then, however, he felt Doumeki shifting again, this time with muffled laughter. Well, that was it. Kicking the other man under the covers, he hissed, "She got that from you."

Doumeki didn't respond, naturally. However, Watanuki just knew he was still smirking. The bastard.

* * *

"That's mine, you damn bastard!" Kiyoshi's clear voice echoed over the playground. Several of the people in the park turned to look. The words weren't exactly what you'd expect to hear from a pretty little four-year-old.

"No it's not, it's mine!" Shiro announced, defending his claim on the little plastic shovel. "I saw it first!"

"No you didn't! It's mine, my mummy bought it for me, so fuck off!"

"…Is it absolutely necessary for him to use such language?" asked Watanuki, sounding a bit suffering. A meeting in his world was all nice and good, as it didn't involve travelling, but at least in the palaces of Clow and Suwa he didn't have to worry about people staring at them all the time.

"I'm afraid it can't be helped," Fay replied with a tiny smile. "In every other aspect aside from the hair colour, Kiyoshi-chan takes after me, but he seems to have picked up Kuro-tan's way of talking. I've tried to make them both stop, but it's not really working."

"Mummyyy!" Kiyoshi wailed. "Come tell Shiro-rin the damn shovel is mine!"

"Well, that at least is from you, Fay-san," Sakura said with a little giggle as she watched the children in the sandbox. "It's rather interesting, though, that he won't call anybody else by such nicknames."

"Oh, Kiyoshi-chan knows already they shouldn't be used for everyone." Fay winked. "Only your very best friend deserves such names."

None of the other adults could respond before they realized that in the sandbox another kind of commotion was arising. While Kiyoshi and Shiro were still bickering about the shovel, a third boy, older than either of them, walked up to them. The strange boy rather unceremoniously pushed Kiyoshi down on his little bottom.

"You are stupid," the strange boy announced. "You use bad words and you look like a girl!"

"Shouldn't we go stop him, Fay-san?" Sakura asked, worried. Fay, however, just shook his head, intently watching.

"Let's see the kids settle this," he said. "We'll get involved if it gets more serious."

"I do not!" Kiyoshi protested. "Girls have dresses like Himawari-chan!" Big tears rose into his bright blue eyes. "You are mean!"

"So what if I am?" The strange boy kicked some sand over Kiyoshi, who tried to shield his eyes with his arm. "Try to stop me, girl!"

"Unfair!" wailed the small boy. "You're picking on smaller kids!"

"Stop that." The strange boy glanced to his side, seeing Shiro glaring at him with the plastic shovel in one hand, a wooden sword in the other.

"Or what?" the older boy asked mockingly. "You'll stop me, eh? Come on, you don't like him either, do you?"

"That's not true!" Kiyoshi cried. "Shiro-pon likes me!" At this, he clung to the said boy's leg, still not on his feet.

Shiro sighed. "He's not the nicest of guys," he said, "but nobody's allowed to pick on him or else." He raised his sword in obvious threat. "Get away before I hit you!"

Though larger he was, the strange boy was unarmed, and decided – perhaps wisely – to retreat. Shiro glared after him for a while before looking down at the still clinging Kiyoshi.

"Let go," he said, irritated. "I can't stand it when you cling to me!"

"Waaah, Shiro-tan is mean!" Kiyoshi complained, then abruptly stopped crying. "But I like him anyway!" he chirped cheerfully.

Shiro's grimace was almost audible.

* * *

"Why isn't Father here yet?"

Yukito smiled gently at his son. "I'm afraid your father still had some duties to attend to. He'll come as soon as he can."

Shiro pouted. "So he loves his work more than me?" he asked accusingly.

"It's not that he doesn't love you, Shiro-kun," the priest replied, "it's just that for a king, the country must always come before everything else. You'll see it yourself if you inherit the throne."

"Then I don't want the throne!" exclaimed the child. "Tomi-kun can become the next king for all I care. Then I can always read the bedtime story for my own kids unlike some idiots!"

"Shiro-kun!" Yukito snapped. "That's no way to talk of anybody, least of all your own father! Now calm down or I won't read the story at all!"

This got him an obedient, if not a bit pouty, silence. Ruffling soothingly the child's light hair, Yukito opened the heavy book on his knees and began to read.

"Once upon a time, in a world far, far away..."

Halfway through the story of exciting adventures, pretty princes and brave female knights – for a son of two men, gender roles weren't of that much importance -- Shiro was fast asleep. With a faint smile, Yukito closed the book. He was just about to pull the covers properly over the slumbering boy as he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder.

"He's asleep already," Touya observed. "Why do I feel like I'm always late for these things?"

"It's not your fault," Yukito reminded. "And you're not, really. Just last week you were present for the bedtime story every day. Shiro-kun just likes exaggerating things a bit, so of course he claims you are never there." He smiled. "He's truly your son, our dear Shiro-chan."

"Well, he'd better be, if he wants to inherit the throne one day."

"Do you think that will really happen?" Yukito asked. "Just now he once again announced he never wants to become the king. I know that doesn't mean anything when coming from the mouth of a sulking six-year-old, but... What do you think?"

"In all honesty? I think Shiro-chan's better suited for the throne," replied Touya. "Tomi-kun's a fine kid, likeable just like his mother, but... No. A queen can get away with being soft at times, especially one loved by everybody like my sister, but a king has to be firm. A king has to fight for his country, be its sole protector if need be – that's what my father taught me. Tomi-kun just isn't like that."

"And Shiro-kun is?" Yukito covered Touya's hand on his shoulder with his own.

"More so than Tomi-kun, yes." Touya glanced proudly at his son. "He'll just have to find his own reason to fight, first. It is hard to grasp the idea of protecting a whole country if you don't even care enough to protect a single person."

"So who was your first reason to fight, To-ya? Sakura-chan, wasn't it?"

"No, it wasn't." The smile was audible in Touya's voice. "It was always you, Yukito."

* * *

**Next chapter:** As time passes, some things change. Some, like Watanuki, don't. 


End file.
